An Easy, Crunchy, Spicy Cucumber Kimchi

For fermentation newbies and kimchi aficionados alike

I recently started re-reading a cookbook I own called The Korean Kimchi Cookbook: 78 Fiery Recipes for Korea’s Legendary Pickled and Fermented Vegetables. It’s a decidedly “uncool”-looking cookbook by today’s standards: a paperback (gasp) cookbook with horizontal (bigger gasp) orientation. But it’s well-written, educational, beautifully photographed, and offers all kinds of kimchis according to the seasons. Nowadays we’re used to accessing only a few major types of kimchi (Napa cabbage and radish among the most popular) 365 days a year—even my corner bodega stocks a couple of different brands. But traditionally, the types of kimchi prepared and fermentation methods employed would vary in accordance with the changing seasons, with the most pungent and well-fermented kimchis enjoyed with heartier winter fare and crunchier, juicier, lightly-fermented kimchis enjoyed in the peak summer.