06 Sep / The Pickle Collection
From top left, going clockwise: watermelon, red onion, mustard cabbage, carrot and daikon, cabbage kimchi.
I like to pickle all year long and this past summer, I was in quite a pickle frenzy. At one point, I had 5 different pickles sitting in my fridge (I’m lazy and refuse to can). My husband was a little peeved about having his beer displaced so he bought a beer fridge. Ha!
Just for fun, here are some random musings about my pickle collection.
1. Watermelon
Nothing screams summer more than watermelon. And this year, I was thrilled to find yellow watermelons at the farmers market (yes, they taste the same but I digress). To appease my hate-to-waste-food conscience that has always been perturbed by the huge hunks of rind leftover after eating the sweet, juicy middle, I decided to pickle them. If you want, you can leave about 1/2-an-inch of flesh but I always chomp the sweet flesh down to the white rind. Be warned, the allspice berries give the watermelon pickles a kick quite unlike the Asian pickles I’m used to. Click here for a recipe.
2. Red onion
Before I left for a week-long vacation, I took stock of my fresh produce. There, lying in my veggie basket was a lonely red onion. My good intentions for it had come and gone so I turned it into refrigerator pickles. I was delighted by the fuschia outcome and top sandwiches, braised meats, etc., etc. with it. Click here for a recipe.
3. Mustard cabbage (kai choy)
I’ve always bought pickled mustard cabbage in vacuum-sealed packs at the Asian store. I was was very excited to discover that it’s easy to make at home and definitely much tastier. See below for recipe.
Carrot and daikon pickles are a must for some of my favorite Vietnamese dishes: bánh mì sandwiches, vermicelli noodle bowls (bún) and much, much more! I always like to have a stash on hand ready to garnish. Click here for a recipe.
Did you know you can kimchi-fy just about anything? Now that you do, try any of these wouldn’t-you-know-it vegetables:
- cucumbers
- radishes
- corn
- turnips
- asparagus
- carrots
- beets
Click here for a recipe.
Pickled mustard cabbage (in the middle) adds a wonderful sweet and sour crunch to a wide array of dishes from congee to braised meats to curries.
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I love pickles ! Thank you !
Me too! Enjoy experimenting!
My favorite is mustard cabbage and kimchi! Although mustard cabbage is my ultimate favorite, it’s what I grew up on and now brings me nostalgia.
Hi Ajanta, how do you pickle your mustard cabbage?