This summer, cucumbers take center stage

Cucumbers are having a moment in Korea.

As one of the most representative vegetables of summer here, cucumbers usually star in summer dishes like cold noodles and soups as a garnish. But this season, they're more than just supporting players — cucumbers have taken center stage.

On social media, cucumber gimbap is all the rage, thanks to TV celebrity Choi Hwa-jung.

On her YouTube channel, Choi, 63, introduced the dish as an “easy to make, yet surprisingly delicious” dish that will help you lose at least 2 kilograms.

With its striking appearance — an entire cucumber wrapped inside a rice roll and nothing else — making people curious about its taste, convenience store chain GS25 quickly moved to launch a similar cucumber-only gimbap product.

A GS25 representative explained that development of the product began in January. “We’d noticed growing interest in gimbap with a whole cucumber in it on social media since last year. Then, Choi Hwa-jung’s YouTube clip significantly helped boost its popularity.”

Ordinarily, gimbap features assorted vegetables such as carrots, spinach, radish and burdock root, rolled with rice and a seaweed sheet. Cucumber is also a regular ingredient.

While making gimbap with a variety of fillings requires a significant amount of work, with each ingredient needing to be prepared separately before being rolled together, whole cucumber gimbap promises minimal preparation and ingredients. All you need is rice, a sheet of dried seaweed and one whole cucumber, along with basic seasonings like salt, sugar, vinegar and sesame seed oil.

So this reporter decided to try making one the other day while contemplating what to do with all the cucumbers in my fridge. During their peak harvest season in summer, cucumbers are cheap and abundant in grocery stores.

If you're familiar with making gimbap, the recipe is simple. You just need to prepare the cucumber, season the steamed rice with a mixture of vinegar, sugar and salt -- or simply use store-bought rice or sushi vinegar -- and then roll everything up in a seaweed sheet.

The following is the recipe I tried.

Whole cucumber gimbap

Ingredients:

1 cucumber

Cooked rice

1 sheet of dried seaweed

Sesame oil

Sweet vinegar for seasoning rice (can be replaced by sushi or rice vinegar)

2/3 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Instructions:

Trim the ends of the cucumber and peel it.

Mix salt, vinegar and sugar. Boil or microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute and stir well.

Season the cooked rice with the sweet vinegar mixture.

Spread a thin layer of the seasoned rice onto the seaweed sheet.

Place the cucumber on top of the rice layer and roll up the seaweed tightly.

Brush the rolled gimbap with sesame oil.

Cut the roll into bite-sized pieces.

Serve with ssamjang (Korean dipping sauce) if desired.

Ssamjang is what elevates the otherwise bland combination of cucumber and rice in this gimbap variation. Pairing cucumber with ssamjang or gochujang is quite common here.

The best part about whole cucumber gimbap is that it’s light, crunchy and refreshing — ideal for a summer snack on the go. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to make.

If you're trying to lose weight, it could be a good choice too since cucumber is considered a "negative-calorie food," which means it requires more energy to eat and digest than the calories it provides. The calorie content of cucumber is 11 kcal per 100 grams. Cucumbers' calorie count is lower than that of bananas, which have 77 kcal per 100 grams, and of tomatoes, which have 19 kcal.

Composed of approximately 95 percent water and rich in vitamin C, cucumbers' status as a summer superfood is well established. They are also a popular hiking snack. This is why you may find many Korean hikers — especially older ones — eating cucumbers as a snack while on the trail.

During prolonged periods of heat, consuming large amounts of icy water or fluids can cause indigestion or hinder blood circulation. In such cases, it's better to cool down naturally by consuming cucumber or fruit with high water content that help hydrate and lower one's body temperature.

According to the Rural Development Administration, the refreshing, unique scent of cucumber is due to a component called cucumber alcohol, and the bitter taste of cucumber comes from elaterin, which aids digestion.

So, here’s another -- and more common -- way to enjoy cucumbers in Korean cuisine.

Chilled cucumber soup (Oinaengguk)

(Recipe from Korea Food Promotion Institute)

Preparation

Wash the cucumbers thoroughly and slice them diagonally into 0.3-cm-thick pieces, then julienne them thinly.

Cooking

Mix the julienned cucumber with soy sauce, minced green onions and red pepper powder.

In a large bowl, pour in cold water and create a tangy broth by adding vinegar, sugar and salt.

Add the seasoned cucumber from step 2 into the broth and mix well. Serve in small bowls.

Tips

For the best taste, the cold soup should be served chilled. Store the cucumber and the broth separately in the refrigerator and combine them just before serving.