Kimchi-Pickled Zucchini and Tomatoes

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Updated July 8, 2026

  • Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Ready In
30 min
Rating
5(211)
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A jar of kimchi in the fridge is a gateway to exciting, flavor-packed weeknight cooking. Here, kimchi, along with its brine, is used to quickly pickle tomatoes and zucchini. The salt and acid in the kimchi draws out the juice and sweetness from the tomatoes and tenderizes the vegetables. Since zucchini is close to 95 percent water, start by salting it briefly to draw out excess liquid and any bitterness, resulting in a texture that is creamy rather than soggy. There are many different types of kimchi available — daikon kimchi is fine to use here, while the milder white variety known as baek-kimchi would also work, giving a sweeter result. Cold, creamy silken tofu is the perfect canvas for this bold, funky pickle-y mixture (which is also quite good on its own).

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 2 medium zucchini (12 ounces total), very thinly sliced into discs

  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided

  • 12 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 2¼ cups)

  • 1 cup vegan or regular cabbage kimchi, plus 1 tablespoon kimchi brine or 2 teaspoons rice vinegar 

  • 2 (16-ounce) blocks silken tofu

  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (see Tip)

  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced

  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce or tamari

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

9 grams carbs; 164 calories; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 513 milligrams sodium; 15 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the zucchini into a medium bowl and add ½ teaspoon of salt. Toss to coat and let sit for 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, halve the cherry tomatoes and place them in a large bowl. Roughly chop the kimchi and add to the tomatoes along with kimchi brine and ½ teaspoon of salt. Toss to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Taking fistfuls of zucchini, squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add the zucchini to the kimchi and tomatoes and toss to combine. Leave to pickle for at least 10 minutes. The pickled zucchini can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and stored, covered, in the fridge.

  4. Step 4

    Carefully drain the liquid from the tofu, and gently tip the blocks onto a large kitchen towel. (Try to keep the block in one piece, but don’t worry if it falls apart). Fold the kitchen towel over and dab the tofu to remove as much liquid as possible. Transfer the blocks to a large plate and slide a knife through the soft tofu to cut into 1-inch cubes. Spoon the tomato, zucchini and kimchi mixture over the top until the tofu is completely covered.

  5. Step 5

    Drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce and top with scallions. Serve immediately.

Tip

  • If you’d like it spicier, replace the sesame oil with chile oil or chile crisp.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
211 user ratings
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Comments

Stevie

I made this as written with the Kimchi from Costco, which I would say is fairly mild. After 2 hours of marinating, the zucchini and tomatoes were perfectly pickled. The flavor was delicious, but a bit slight once the plain tofu was added. After a few bites of the by-the-book recipe, I added a mix of chile crisp, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, and toasted sesame oil to the tofu, and it truly elevated the recipe from something nice to something absolutely exceptional. Definitely a keeper!

SD in NJ

I made this as a vegan option for summer neighborhood pot luck and received wonderful feedback. Those who really like deeply flavored Asian food will want to use spicy kimchi (I used Wegman's orginal, which was under-powered). I also tossed a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds over the finished product. Finally, the dish looks better if plated on a dark colored platter.

P.S

Another recipe trying to find uses for zucchini, the most boring, worthless, and flavorless vegetable of all. This time of year is always an exercise in reading recipes designed to figure out what to do with this bland bounty. Seriously, farmers just need to grow less zucchini. This isn’t even a controversial take. It’s an objective reality. The recipe itself sounds good, the zucchini notwithstanding. Kimchi makes everything good and is always a good idea.

pbp in DC

This was super delish! I had leftovers, so I thought it would be interesting to add some cooked cubed beets to the mix, and it was superb (and colorful)! Next time will try it with regular tofu instead of silken.

Muna Shehadi

This didn’t work for us. Flavors fought and were unpleasant. Followed recipe exactly, so I don’t know what happened. Obviously plenty of people thought this was delicious.

Wendy

I made this as written and served alongside a soy and five spice marinated chicken. But I made waaay too much for the number of guests so FOUR days later, I turned it into a kimchi fried rice adding a gojuchang sauce drizzled on top and a fried egg. I think the pickle kept the mixture from spoiling. It was delicious the second time as well.

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