Chinese Quick Pickled Cucumbers 拍黄瓜 (pāi huángguā)

I realize I just posted about a wonderful, warming, potato leek soup for these wintry nights and now, here I go serving up some cool, chilled, Chinese pickled cucumbers. A bit of dissonance there, but when you think about it, people have been pickling for thousands of years to provide sustenance thru the winter months.

Born of necessity, pickling continues to this day, because, well, pickled stuff is delicious, as borne out by these pickled cucumbers! My family loves them as a crunchy side dish with softer foods like rice or ramen, as a palate cleanser to cut thru rich, fatty dishes such as mac and cheese or roast pork, or just as an appetizer or snack.

They're super easy to make. If you use a glass jar with side measurements, you can measure and swirl the brine directly in the pickling jar since the brine doesn't need to be boiled. The best part is smacking the cucumber into bite size pieces with a big cleaver. Great for creating jaggedy edges to absorb more flavor. Or releasing pent up aggression!

The pickled cucumbers look stunning alongside Dayglo Pickled Red Onions. I like to keep my refrigerator regularly stocked with these two goodies because I confess, I love seeing these two eye-popping colors side by side. Swoon!


Chinese Quick Pickled Cucumbers 拍黄瓜
Serves 10-12 as an appetizer

In a 1-qt, wide-mouth glass jar, add and swirl to combine well:
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Wash, dry and trim ends from:
1 lb Persian cucumbers (about 6)

On a cutting board, use the side of a cleaver or chef's knife and with the blade perpendicular to the length of the cucumber, give a few quick slaps down the length of the cucumber. Flip the cuke 90° and thwack it again on the new side. Not too hard; you don't want to completely pulverize the cuke. There should be long cracks along the length of the cucumber and you should be able to see the craggy inside, but the cuke should still be largely intact lengthwise. Cut the cucumber crosswise into 1- 1 1/2" lengths.

Add to glass jar, screw on lid and do a little conga dance as you shake the jar back and forth, side to side. Refrigerate until chilled (or overnight for even better flavor), then spoon out into a shallow serving bowl along with some of the pickling juice and serve. They're freshest and crunchiest the first 3 days or so, but will keep refrigerated for a week or more.

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