Pickling is a method I use whenever I have a fridge full of vegetables that are getting close to their expiration date. It's incredibly easy and the result is always delicious! I'll eat cornichons and dill pickles out of the jar as a snack, but my favorite types are Asian style pickles. I love the carrot and daikon pickles found in banh mi, the side of colorful pickled veggies served in Japanese restaurants, and the famously pungent Korean kimchi that ferments underground for months. It seems the more I have fun creating pickling combinations, the more new flavors I discover! Here are five of my favorite Asian influenced pickle recipes.
1. Pickled Cherry Tomatoes (Thai Style)
For this recipe, I pricked each cherry tomato a few times with a skewer to help the flavors penetrate inside the flesh. The combination of fish sauce, rice vinegar and Thai chilies gives this beautiful red fruit a kick of heat and saltiness. They are delicious is pasta dishes, sandwiches and as a topping for fish. GET THE RECIPE
2. Quick Cucumber Kimchi
This is a twist on the classic Korean kimchi but with more intense flavors and a much shorter fermentation period. These cucumber kimchi pieces are pungent, hot and salty! Eat them just like that, with a bowl of rice or together with a cold beer. They are quite spectacular! GET THE RECIPE
3. Tsukemono (Japanese Pickles with Miso)
This might be the easiest pickle recipe you've ever come across! Chop your favorite vegetables and put them in a Tupperware container together with plenty of miso paste. Massage the vegetable with the miso until they are completely covered. Let them marinade for a few hours and rinse the vegetables under cold water to remove the miso paste. Pat dry and enjoy! GET THE RECIPE
4. Pickled Cucumber and Ginger
You can eat these pickled cucumber and ginger slices after only half an hour of marinating. But leave them for another three to four hours and the texture of the ginger becomes so soft it becomes as easy to chew on as the cucumber slices. Yum! I can much on these pickled cucumber and ginger slices forever! GET THE RECIPE
5. Pickled Daikon
The flavor of crushed garlic really comes through and add an element of heat to these pickled daikon strips. The marinade is made with soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar and a dash of ichimi (red pepper flakes). This is a very simple recipe with bold flavors.
GET THE RECIPE