Every time I visit my mom, she always sends me home with jars of her homemade pao tsai, aka pickled vegetables. Hers are sort of like kimchee and they're a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet. Last week, when I visited my mom, she only had one jar to hand over and demanded that I give it to my sister. Her reasoning was that my sister was busy and that I could just make my own. I couldn't really argue with her and decided to prove to her that I could. The technique is actually really simple and quick — it took about 15 minutes to make, plus a day to sit — and the results are pretty nice. See the recipe I used — just tweak it to suit your own palate — when you read more.
Inspired by YumSugar's mom
Ingredients
8 mini cucumbers (or 4 regular sized ones, I prefer the English kind as they're crispier)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 dried chili peppers (more or less to taste)
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
Directions
- Peel cucumbers and cut them into smaller pieces. Mine were about 1 1/2 inches long each.
- In a bowl dissolve sugar into vinegar. Add garlic and seeds from chili peppers.
- Put cucumbers and hot peppers into a vessel or jar. Top with liquid mixture.
- Close jar and put into fridge overnight. Let sit at least 24 hours if not longer. The flavor will get stronger as it sits.
- Enjoy!
This recipe is very flexible, if you don't like spice, don't add peppers, if you want more garlic, add it. You can also add radishes, carrots and other country veggies to the mix.
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- Sugar, White Vinegar, Mini Cucumbers, Garlic, Hot Peppers
- Peeled Cucumbers
- Peeled cucumbers cut into smaller pieces
- Add garlic to the liquid.
- Add the seeds to the liquid
- Mix sugar, vinegar, garlic and peppers together.
- Put the cucumbers and hot peppers into a jar or large sealable vessel.
- Add liquid to vessel.
- Close up the pao-tsai and put in the fridge. The longer it sits, the yummier it is. It can last a little while, but mine are usu
Jaeger
Looks really good. I'll have to try this recipe. How long does it stay good for?
1Yum. this is more work but i salt the cucumbers first for 15 mins and rinse in order to draw out water. also, i like fresh squeezed lemon juice for a brighter acid taste than vinegar. i also splash soy sauce and sesame oil on mine.
2sounds yummy, but no peppers for me!
3FinnLover - not really sure, my mom has hers for a few weeks, but she tends to make smaller batches so it's always fresh.
msjean - that is a great idea, they were a bit waterlogged, sesame oil sounds like a divine touch too!
4can't wait to try this!
5I'll eat anything pickled but pigs' feet. This is so simple, I'll give it a try.
6These look delicious and fresh and yummy. I've always been intimidated by pickling, but this actually looks like a pretty simple process.
7Thanks Yum! I'll probably make some this weekend.
8Yummy! My best friend's mom did something like this when we were younger...love it.
9Oooh, this sounds yummy. When the cucumber crop starts rolling in this summer, I'll be sure to give this one a try.
10this looks like a delicious snack. yaaaay!
11yummy. I love anything pickled.
12I hate pickles.
13omg...yum! my mom used to make this and put them in my school lunches!
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