Home pickling can be incredibly fun and rewarding, but these days I’ve been way too busy to set aside time for the canning process. So when a craving hits, I’ve been making what I call instant pickles. They’re great for a quick dinner appetizer, pot luck barbecue treat, or mid-afternoon computer break snack.
I first made these 2 years ago with fresh bird’s eye chilis, but found that mincing up the chilis can be time consuming (and painful, if you wear contacts…the oil from the chilis doesn’t seem to leave my hands, even after copious hand-washings and soaking in yogurt.)
Over time I discovered these pickles are just as good with Asian chili sauce, such as sambal oelek, and much, much faster. The hands-on process takes no more than 10 minutes, and you can either serve them right away or wait to allow the cucumbers to soak up more flavor.
If you’re a fan of pickles straight from the jar, you’ll love this recipe. If you’re a fan of kimchi or other banchan, you’ll also love this.
Chinese restaurants overseas, even those in Chinatown, rarely serve appetizers. But in China, dinners at mid-range or higher end restaurants usually begin with a trail of cold appetizer dishes. You can get peanuts, tofu, turnips, carrots, radishes, mostly with a cold snappy bite to wet your appetite for the hot dishes to come. And if you’re hungry and in desperate need of food NOW, it helps to have a bunch of tasty snacks to nibble on.
The trick to making these cucumbers crisp and snappy is to drain the excess water out, by tossing them in salt and letting them sit for 20 to 30 minutes.
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Spicy Pickled Cucumbers
Serves 4 as an appetizer
- 4 to 5 kirby cucumbers
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili sauce, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 medium-sized carrot, very thinly sliced
- Slice the cucumbers in half length-wise, then quarter them to end up with long wedges. Scoop or slice out the seeds, then slice each wedge into thin strips (about 1/4″ to 1/2″ wide and 2″ long, thin and short enough to pick up with chopsticks). Toss the cucumbers in salt and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix together the rice wine vinegar, chili sauce, salt, sugar, and sesame oil.
- Drain the excess water from the cucumbers. Coat with the chili-vinegar mixture. Mix in the carrot slices. Taste, and season with more salt and or/chili sauce if desired. Serve right away, or let the cucumbers sit for at least 1 hour at in the fridge (or overnight) to absorb the flavors. Serve cold or at room temperature.
I just came across your website a few days ago and love it! I travel to China 2 or 3 times a year (mostly in Beijing and Tianjin, with occasional trips to Qingdao), and love telling people how great the food is there, and how unlike the goopy stuff Americans are used to eating. This is one of my favorite dishes, though I like it with some black vinegar thrown in too. Follow this up with authentic kung pao qi di and I’m in heaven.
I look forward to attempting your great recipes!
My mother makes a fantastic version of this. She’d smash the cucumbers with the side of a clever, like you would a garlic clove, to speed up the pickling process. It’s a great dish indeed.
I saw kimchi on the Tv a few weeks ago and I want to try it! I’m loving these pickled cucumbers of yours!
so cannot wait to make these – they look mouthwatering!
I love this appetizer! thank you for the recipe. I could figure out what the ingredients were – chili, vinegar and salt and sugar but never (until now) figured how they were sort of pickled. Thanks for he recipe
Oh, my goodness. I am so addicted to this stuff. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us! Now I can make it at home instead of hunting down the few restaurants in the area that actual serve this! :D
how long will these keep
This will spice up our evening. I’m gonna prepare it as a sidedish for a dinner treat.
They sound great. Love the idea of using prepared chili sauce because I have the same problem with chopping up chiles.
Okay, mine are picking in the fridge right now and I can’t wait til tomorrow to try them. I ordered the same appetizer at least once a week when I was in Beijing, except that one had garlic cloves marinated in there, and also, they served it with some fresh, chopped cilantro mixed in. This recipe brings back the memories– thanks!
Angela – Great to hear! Let me know how they turn out. And garlic in vinegar in always appealing.
Thanks for a great recipe!
I found that the salt used to toss into the cucumbers at the beginning of the process is PLENTY enough salt for the recipe. There’s also salt in the chili sauce, and the two extra teaspoons called for in the dressing made it waaaaaaaahayhayhayyyyyyyy too salty for me.
Guess I learned the hard way, but it’s a good thing pickle cucumbers are so cheap. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Thanks again!
Dave – Thanks for pointing that out. I guess it’s true that chefs by nature tend to like their foods saltier. I have adjusted the salt amount in the recipe (half the original amount) so that you can add more later if you choose to.
just popped mine in the fridge! ill report back tomorrow :)
fantastic! i added some home made dried chilies as our garden was producing them faster than we could use, and we dried a big batch. what a delicious snack!
Lucy – Yay, I’m so glad! I love making big batches of these cucumbers for snacks. Chilis from your garden seems like an especially nice touch!
Just made this with the ingredients in my first CSA box – delicious! Thanks so much for getting me started out right!
Chile oil on the hands can be VERY painful when the hands touch sensitive places. The ‘chilehead’ term for this condition is ‘Hunan Hand’ and there is said to be no cure for same. As a chemist, I spent 20 yrs trying exotic materials to remove the stuff without success. The cure is actually so simple its almost unbeliveable: you have to remove BOTH the capsacin AND the associated oleoresin to do the job. Mix one teaspoon of non-ionic dish detergent (i.e. “Dawn”) with one Tablespoon of vinegar (white or cider) and wash your hands with the mixture. One application is usually sufficient to ‘detox’ your hands.