Oi Muchim (Spicy Cucumbers)

From CSA member Ellice Lee!

One of my favorite things about Summer is eating crunchy, fresh veggies—and especially if they're spicy and a tad bit sweet! This recipe is a quick go-to. It takes about 15 min to prep and 15 min of marinating and then it's ready to serve. Tastes even better on Day 2, so you can always make this a day ahead of time.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 6)
11⁄2 pounds (680 g) Korean, English hothouse, or Persian cucumbers
1⁄4 pound (115 g, or about 1 large bunch) Chinese garlic chives, cut into 1 1⁄2-inch (4 cm) pieces (or substitute green onions!)
1 cup (100 g) thinly sliced sweet white onion
2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes—make sure you use the flakes, not the powder, or else it will be REALLY spicy)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (non or lightly seasoned)
2 teaspoons packed brown sugar (or honey, agave)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
11⁄2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

Cut the cucumbers into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, then cut each of those pieces in fours.

Place the cucumbers in a large mixing bowl, then add the garlic chives, onion, gochugaru, rice wine vinegar, sweetener of choice, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt.
Mix everything together well with your hands, then pack it into a nonreactive storage container, such as glass or plastic.

You can eat this right away, but it tastes better if left to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will last 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

This recipe has been adapted from Sohui Kim's Korean Home Cooking.

Spicy Curry Noodle Soup with Koji, Sweet Potato & Chicken

With our first ever fresh ginger from Windflower Farm, PHCSA Coordinator Colleen Lynch riffed on this Epicurious recipe to maximize CSA ingredients (and simplified the cooking steps per the comments!) Absolutely delicious, easy & could be a one-pot meal if you cooked the noodles directly in the soup!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 thinly sliced white onion or 2 thinly sliced shallots

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 tablespoons lemongrass* (from bottom 4 inches of about 3 stalks, tough outer leaves discarded)

• 2 tablespoons minced or grated peeled fresh ginger

• 2 tablespoons Thai yellow or red curry paste*

• 2 tablespoons curry powder

• 1 teaspoon hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)*

• 2 13.5- to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk,* divided

• 5 cups low-salt chicken broth

• 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)*

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 bunch of koji or other choy, stems chopped to 1/2-inch pieces, leaves roughly chopped, separated

• 1 large red-skinned sweet potato (yam), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

• 1 pound dried rice vermicelli noodles or other Asian noodles* (I used buckwheat soba noodles)

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

• 1/4 cup crushed peanuts

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 1-3 red Thai bird chiles or red jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced with seeds

• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, chili paste, and 1/2 cup coconut milk. Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, and sugar; bring broth to boil.

2. Bring pot of water to boil for noodles, if cooking separately. Cook noodles according to package instructions until just tender but still firm to bite, about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to stop cooking. (Alternatively, you can add noodles to broth 2 minutes after sweet potatoes in next step.)

3. Meanwhile, add chicken thigh slices to boiling broth and stir. After 2 minutes, add cubed sweet potato. After 6 additional minutes, add choy stems. When chicken and vegetables are

4. cooked, about 2 additional minutes, add choy leaves to wilt.

5. Divide noodles among bowls and top with hot soup. Scatter green onions, peanuts, cilantro, and chiles over soup to taste. Garnish with lime wedges and serve with sriracha.

   *Available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores and Asian markets.