Food
Panchan: Quick-Pickled Cucumbers
Lesson time 05:47 min
Learn how to mimic the flavor of a pickled cucumber on the stovetop in this panchan recipe.
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Topics include: Pickled Cucumber Panchan
Preview
ROY CHOI: Warning. This class contains some bad language. [MUSIC PLAYING] I just want no waste in your life. I don't want you to throw away fruits or lettuces or anything in your refrigerator. I wanted you to be able to take those things when maybe they're at their last date or you don't want to eat them anymore, or whatever the case, you've run out of ideas of how to cook them, you just pickle everything. You know what I'm saying? We're making another panchan, my version of a quick-pickled cucumber. Very, very, very simple, a little counterintuitive to how maybe pickles normally would be made. I don't know how I came up with the recipe kind of inside out like this because, in most cases, you would just make a pickle brine and then pour that over your cut vegetables. But for some reason, I decided to do-- I decided to do these pickles where I'm cooking the whole thing together, almost like a sauté. [MUSIC PLAYING] So the first thing we're going to do is we're going to slice our cucumbers. We have four cucumbers. These are Persian cucumbers. You could use any type of cucumber that you find, English cucumber, regular cucumber. And you want to cut these things 1/4 inch, maybe, that looks like, right? We'll call it a 1/4 inch. You want to cut them into these kind of like disks. Okay, try to be as consistent as you can with all your cuts, always, because you've got to remember that everything needs the same amount of cooking time, right? So panchan is kind of like a Korean pickle. It's something that comes at the beginning of a meal. It's a way to make something out of everything that you have. And the panchan, sometimes what it does is it's a reflection of the restaurant or the home cook that is serving it to you. So you'll see different variations of anything from potato salad, to seaweed salad, to cucumbers, to kimchis, to bean sprouts. But in most cases, they're kind of like a little personal imprint of whoever the cook is and kind of like how their-- it's like a look into their creativity, in a way. The stuff that I'm showing you here is a little bit of a hybrid between how I was raised and kind of like who I am when I don't want to work that much, you know? You ever in a mood where you just don't want to do, like, all that shit? You know, you just want to, like, just want to put on some sweats, t-shirt, grab the easiest thing. Sometimes you just put your head under the sink and drink the water from the faucet because you don't even want to go and get the glass. That's like what these are. So we're going to make the instant-pickle cucumber. So what we have here, we have sugar, we have salt, pepper, vinegar, sesame oil, star anise, some chile powder, some sesame seeds, okay? So we have a hot pan over here. And again, this is a counterintuitive pickle in the sense that most pickles you would just make the brine first, put all of these sliced cucumbers-- I'm chopping hella cucumber...
About the Instructor
Roy Choi wasn’t trying to start a revolution when he took tacos, kimchi, and more to the Los Angeles streets with the Kogi BBQ taco truck. He just wanted to make what he loved and knew by heart: immigrant-influenced all-American food. Now he’s teaching you his recipes, sauces, and techniques. Learn how to cook with your instincts using equipment you already have—and start adding your own twist to tried-and-true favorites.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Roy Choi
Food truck “godfather” Roy Choi teaches you his signature recipes and mother sauces—then empowers you to make them your own.
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