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Pickles

Appetizers, Dinner, Lactose Free, Pickles, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Taiwanese Cucumber Salad

September 18, 2023

Here’s a delicious cucumber side dish that is very easy to put together. It’s crunchy and so refreshing you’ll be making it on repeat.

If you don’t already have chili crisp, visit your local market or purchase a jar online. It’s a wonderful condiment to have on hand. Chili crisp compliments ramen, tofu, stir fries, eggs, and so much more. I’ve tried a few brands and still come back to Zindrew (Amazon) as my favorite. Costco sells the popular Fly by Jing brand and I have spotted the locally made Maui Chili Oil at Foodland.

The first time I made this recipe I used an English cucumber that I had on hand. It was a bit disappointing because it didn’t have that excellent crunchy texture I expect. So from now on, I only use Japanese cucumbers which are guaranteed crunchy. Persian cucumbers would be an acceptable substitution.

The cucumbers marinate in the sauce for 4 hours (overnight is fine) before being served.

Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the cucumbers and additional chili crisp just before serving. The cucumbers go well with grilled teriyaki meat sticks, grilled tofu, or just about any grilled protein or noodle dish. Being and Island girl, I am thoroughly content eating these cucumbers with a bowl of hot rice!

Taiwanese Cucumber Salad

Recipe by Kiyo
Servings

4

servings

Adapted from TJ Lee at The Kitchn

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Japanese cucumbers (substitute with Persian)

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 2 medium garlic cloves, finely minced

  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons mirin

  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (1 tablespoon for a sweeter sauce)

  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil (Kadoya is a good choice)

  • 2 teaspoons chili crisp, such as Zindrew + more for serving

  • 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

Directions

  • Trim and cut cucumbers into 1/3-inch rounds. Place in a colander set over a bowl, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss to combine. Let sit for 20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine rice vinegar, mirin, and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Add minced garlic, sesame oil, and 2 teaspoons chili crisp to the bowl.
  • Rinse cucumbers under cold running water. Pat dry with towels. Place cucumbers in a large zip-top bag and add marinade. Seal the bag and lay flat in the refrigerator so that the cucumbers are mostly in a single layer. Marinate for 4 hours (or overnight) turning the bag occasionally.
  • To serve, remove the cucumbers from the marinade and place in a low-sided serving bowl (a small amount of the marinade in the bowl is fine). Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top and drizzle with extra chili crisp. Serve cold.
Appetizers, Lactose Free, Pickles, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower

August 21, 2022

These crunchy cauliflower pickles are now a staple alongside the cucumber and green bean pickles we regularly make. Their crisp texture and tangy flavor are addictive. Our homemade sandwiches are always served with a side of pickles.

Turmeric gives these cauliflower pickles their vibrant color. Not only are they beautiful to look at, they are incredibly tasty. With just a few ingredients and a bit of patience, these crunchy pickles will become a favorite of yours.

A little turmeric goes a long way. Be careful when using turmeric with plastic and rubber utensils as the turmeric can stain them. If you have a light colored work surface it is best to place a mat or cutting board on your counter to avoid the risk of staining them. Sometimes I use a clean paper grocery bag as my work surface. It will soak up small drips that may have accidentally have fallen when transferring the cauliflower and brine to the pickle jar.

Thinly sliced garlic, a few lemon slices, and black peppercorns are placed on the bottom of the jar before adding the cauliflower and brine.

Top the cauliflower with a slice or two of lemon. Let cool for a bit, cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

These beauties are perfect to serve as an appetizer with cheese, salami and crackers or simply served with your favorite sandwich.

Turmeric Pickled Cauliflower

Recipe by Kiyo

Recipe adapted from Vanns Spices. Makes approximately 1 quart.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium head cauliflower, about 1 3/4 pounds

  • 1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar

  • 1 1/2 cups filtered water

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

  • 4 lemon slices

  • 3/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

  • 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Directions

  • Rinse cauliflower and cut into small florets. Remove as much of the stem as possible.
  • Combine vinegar, water, turmeric, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan (large enough to hold the cauliflower florets) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • Place two slices of lemon on the bottom of a clean quart jar, followed by the garlic and peppercorns.
  • When the brine comes to a boil, add the cauliflower and stir, trying to get as much of the cauliflower submerged in the brine as possible. Bring back to a rolling boil. Turn off heat, and transfer cauliflower florets to the jar using tongs (A canning funnel works great if you have one).
  • If you prefer a clearer brine, strain it using a double layer of cheese cloth placed over a small strainer. Pour brine into the jar making sure all of the cauliflower is submerged. Top with the remaining two slices of lemon.
  • Cap the jar and allow to sit on the countertop until cooled to warm or room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator. The pickles will be ready to eat in 24 hours.

Lactose Free, Pickles, Recipes, Summertime Meal, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Quick Dill Pickle Chips

May 28, 2022

Quick Dill Pickle Chips

Crispy, tangy and refreshing quick dill pickle chips are so easy to make and perfect for your summer picnics. We love pickles and always have an assortment in our refrigerator to serve with sandwiches or for a quick snack.  These dill chips are ready in just a few hours.  

Quick Dill Pickle Chips on Grilled Hot Dog

Quick Dill Pickle Chips Ingredients

Kirby cucumbers are typically used for pickles but are rarely found here on Maui.  Our locally grown Keiki Cukes are the perfect substitution.  They are small and crispy with very few seeds.  We have successfully used these for canning whole dill pickles as well as spears.  They are sold at all of our local markets as well as Costco.

Sliced Keiki Cukes

This crinkle cutter gives the cucumber slices scalloped edges which is sort of fun but of course is optional.

Quick Dill Pickle Chips Brine

The brine for the pickles couldn’t be easier.  The ingredients go into a pot until the mixture simmers, then poured over the sliced cucumbers.  That’s it!

Quick Dill Pickle Chips

Use a large bowl or mason jars to brine the cucumber slices.  This recipe makes enough pickles for three pint jars.  Surprise your neighbor with a jar of these crunchy pickles.

Quick Dill Pickle Chips

Quick Dill Pickle Chips on Grilled Hot Dog

The dill pickle chips are best eaten once they have been chilled thoroughly.  Pile them on hotdogs, sandwiches, burgers or chop finely and mix into potato salads.

Quick Dill Pickle Chips

Quick Dill Pickle Chips
 
Adapted from Serious Eats
Author:
Serves: 3 pint jars
Ingredients
  • 1½ pounds Keiki Cukes (or Kirby cucumbers), thinly sliced
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 10 sprigs fresh dill
Preparation
  1. Place cucumber slices in a large bowl or pack in mason jars.
  2. Heat water, vinegar salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, and dill in a large pot over high heat until salt has dissolved and the mixture is simmering. Immediately pour brine over the cucumbers, making sure they are submerged in the brine. Let cool for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl or jars, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Store for up to a month.

 

 

Lactose Free, Mexican, Pickles, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Quick Jalapeño Nacho Rings

March 17, 2022

Quick Jalapeño Nacho Rings

Most every year John grows a variety of jalapeños which he prepares and cans as nacho rings and hot sauce. We skipped a year and our jalapeño stash ran out.  Not good!  Especially because we love Mexican dishes and cook them often.  I bought a couple of supermarket pickled jalapeños and ended up throwing out two of the three jars, and kept one out of desperation.  Their mushy texture was a real let down.

Sliced Fresh Jalapeños & Fresnos

Something had to give, so I bought fresh jalapeños and a few Fresno peppers for their beautiful bright red color and made a batch of quick nacho rings. They turned out to be just what we needed on short notice.

Sliced Fresh Jalapeños & Fresnos

Use green or a combination of green and red peppers for a colorful jar of nacho rings.

Peppers in Brine

Quick Jalapeño Nacho Rings

We use the jalapeños in quesadillas, tacos, burritos, Mexican cabbage slaw, and nachos.  They are crisp, tart and delicious.

Quick Jalapeño Nacho Rings on Tacos

Quick Jalapeño Nacho Rings
 
Author:
Serves: 2 pint jars
Ingredients
  • 1 pound fresh jalapeños
  • 1¼ cup white vinegar
  • 1¼ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 medium garlic clove cut in half and smashed
  • few dashes of dried oregano
Preparation
  1. Slice jalapeños into rings and set aside while you make the brine.
  2. Combine vinegar, water sugar, salt, garlic and dried oregano in a pot large enough to hold the jalapeños. Bring brine to a boil. Turn off heat and add jalapeños to the brine. Let sit for about 10 minutes then transfer to mason jars. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes or so, before refrigerating to chill completely. The jalapeños will become delightfully crisp and will keep for about a month.

 

Dinner, Japanese, Lactose Free, Pasta, Pickles, Recipes, Tofu, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tofu Ramen with Cucumbers & Chili Crisp

February 26, 2022

Tofu Ramen with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp

This ramen dish is one of our new favorites.  It has tons of umami flavor that makes this dish a real stand out.  The chili crisp adds a nice hint of heat and is used in the sauce and later spooned over the noodles before serving.  This happens to be a vegan recipe which means that everyone can try it out.  Surprise!  The tofu is not bland, watery or tasteless in this dish.  Even non-vegans will find it delicious.

Wildwood Tofu and TofuXpress

I highly recommend the TofuXpress tofu press for those of you who eat and cook tofu often.  In fact even if you cook with tofu occasionally, this handy kitchen gadget is a dream come true.  You may shy away from buying it because of the price (online from $42.95) but just go for it.  I have had mine for more than 10 years and never regret purchasing it.  The water is pressed out of the tofu quickly so that your tofu is ready to use in 15-30 minutes.  For this dish I suggest using extra firm tofu such as WildWood Organic.

Crumbled Tofu

Once the water is pressed out, the tofu is crumbled into small pieces before pan frying until crisp.

Fresh Ramen

I prefer to use fresh ramen noodles, however, I use dried ramen when fresh is not available.  If using the dried version such as Ichiban, be sure to undercook the noodles until just al dente since they are quite a bit thinner than fresh noodles.

Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms are a big star in this recipe.  They are chopped finely and pan fried with the diced shallots until nicely browned before being added to the fried tofu.

Diced Shallots, Garlic & Ginger

Assorted Chili Crisps

I purchased three different brands of chili crisp to see which one I liked best. There are hundreds of versions available. Of the three I purchased, my favorite is Zindrew.  It’s on the mild heat side, but it has lots of flavor, is very crunchy, and is the least oily. There’s just a tablespoon of it left in the jar!

Fried Tofu

The crumbled tofu is pan fried until crisp on both sides.  The texture of the fried tofu is pleasantly firm with a bit of chew to it. 

Fried Shiitakes Mushrooms & Diced Shallots

Shiitake mushrooms are fried with diced shallots until nicely browned.  These mushrooms works so well with this dish because they have a meaty texture and do not have as much water as other types of mushrooms.

Tofu, Shiitakes & Sauce

The sauce is added to the tofu and mushroom mixture and quickly heated before serving.  The original recipe from Bon Appetit calls this dish Saucy Tofu Noodles with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp.  I found that in order to keep this “saucy” the sauce should be heated separately otherwise the tofu and mushroom mixture absorbs the sauce very quickly.  Either way, it’s just delicious.

Tofu Ramen with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp

Thinly sliced quick cucumber pickles are the topping for this ramen dish.  Their tartness and crisp texture are a perfect accompaniment to the savory tofu ramen.

Tofu Ramen with Cucumbers and Chili Crisp

Tofu Ramen with Cucumbers & Chili Crisp
 
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Author:
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup less sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons Chinkiang (black vinegar) or balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon chili crisp + more for serving
  • 2 very small Keiki cucumbers or Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
  • ½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal or 1¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt, divided
  • 1 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, water pressed out
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
  • 1 shallot (2 tablespoons) finely chopped
  • 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 medium or 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 10 ounces fresh ramen (12 ounces for 4 servings)
Preparation
  1. Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, tahini, sesame oil, black vinegar, 1 tablespoon chili crisp, and ½ cup water in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
  2. Toss cucumbers with rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ¾ teaspoon Morton salt in a medium bowl. Let sit, stirring occasionally until cucumbers have slightly softened, about 30 minutes. Drain and set aside in a small bowl.
  3. Meanwhile, press water from tofu using TofuXpress or wrap in a clean kitchen towel (gather ends together) and squeeze with your hands over the sink to extract as much liquid as possible. Crumble drained tofu into a medium bowl (it should resemble cooked ground meat with some larger pieces). Sprinkle with cornstarch and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ Morton salt. Toss with your hands to evenly coat tofu.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Arrange tofu crumbles in a single layer, reserve bowl. Cook tofu undisturbed until golden brown underneath, about 4 minutes. Toss and continue cooking until tofu is golden brown and crisp all over, about 3-4 minutes more. Transfer tofu back to reserved bowl.
  5. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to same skillet and heat to medium high. Add mushrooms and shallot, and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms are browned and shallot is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and return tofu to the pan. Add reserved sauce and heat for about 30-60 seconds. Remove from heat. For saucier version, heat sauce in a separate skillet over medium until just slightly reduced.
  6. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions. Drain and divide among bowls. Ladle tofu over noodles and top with reserved pickled cucumbers and more chili crisp. If sauce has been heated separately, pour sauce over tofu right before serving.

 

 

Appetizers, Pickles, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Veggies

Quick Aleppo Dill Pickles

February 2, 2016

Quick Aleppo Dill PicklesIn earlier posts, I’ve mentioned that we love virtually all forms of pickles.  These refrigerator dill pickles are scrumptious.  Crunchy with a little heat from the Aleppo pepper flakes, they are ready to eat in just an hour. John, always on the lookout for different pickles, found the recipe in my Bon Appetit magazine and quickly ordered Aleppo pepper from Amazon knowing we wouldn’t be able to find it here on Maui.  Featuring large flakes with a beautiful deep red color and medium heat, it is widely used in Middle Eastern cooking. This is our new favorite savory pickle.

Aleppo Pepper

Keiki CukesThe original recipe called for Persian cucumbers which are difficult to find here on Maui. These beautiful Keiki Cukes are readily available at our local Costco and they are perfect for pickles.

Cukes & Dill

Quick Aleppo Dill PicklesIf you are in the mood for pickles, go ahead and make a batch of these crunchy dills.  Once you taste them you will want to have  a jar in your refrigerator at all times.  Sprinkle on za’atar for a delicious finishing touch just before serving the pickles.

Quick Aleppo Dill Pickles

Quick Aleppo Dill Pickles
 
Updated 2/07/16: I reduced the salt from the original recipe.
Author:
Ingredients
  • 8 Keiki Cukes or Persian cucumbers (about 1¼ pound) quartered lengthwise
  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
  • 2⅓ cups distilled white vinegar
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 1 medium garlic clove, finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Za'atar and flaky sea salt (for serving)
Preparation
  1. Pack cucumber spears and dill into a large heatproof jar.
  2. Bring vinegar, sugar, garlic, Aleppo pepper, lemon juice, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Let cool slightly, then pour brine over cucumbers to submerge. Seal jar and chill at least 30 minutes.
  3. To serve, remove cucumber spears from brine, lightly shaking off excess liquid but leaving on any seasonings. Sprinkle with za'atar and sea salt.

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