Pickled Green Chilli
Pickled green chilli is an essential condiment companion to many Chinese dishes. It is such a common condiment that I almost took it for granted and it hardly even occured to me to make my own at home. And I am glad I finally did – because unlike making sambal chilli which requires time and effort, the pickled green chilli recipe is almost a no-brainer, cheap, fast and effortless. Best of all, the home-made version tastes fresher than store-bought ones, without any preservatives.
More Easy Pickles:
Pickled green chilli is typically not as hot as regular chilli sambal, it tastes a tad sour, sweet and mildly hot, and it is an irreplaceable condiment for popular local dishes such as fried bee hoon, hor fun and shredded chicken noodles.
The quantities stated in this recipe fill a 200ml glass bottle (which I bought from Daiso for $2). If you are wondering why I made such a small bottle, it is because this bottle is enough to last me for a few weeks, and the recipe is easy enough for me to make a fresh bottle any time I want, so I don’t see the need to make a big jar at a go. Feel free to multiply the quantities to make more according to your needs.
And since home-made = wholesomeness (to me anyway), I highly recommend using real rice vinegar instead of imitation vinegar. They are cheap. My bottle above cost just under S$1.
Pickled Green Chilli Recipe
You may substitute local finger-length green chilli with any variety of green chilli in your area, such as jalapeno peppers.
Ingredients:
- 5 finger length green chilli (about 85 grams) sliced thinly
- hot boiling water
(A) Vinegar solution
- 1/2 cup (white) rice vinegar
- 50 grams (or 3 level tbsp) sugar to taste
- 1/4 tsp salt
You also need:
- one x 200ml glass bottle
Directions:
- Placed sliced chilli in a bowl, pour hot water over it and let stand for about 20 seconds. Drain the chillies, then add it to a glass bottle.
- In a saucepan, bring (A) to a simmer, until the sugar dissolves. Alternatively, add (A) to a microwave-safe bowl, microwave on MEDIUM for 2 minutes, then whisk to dissolve the sugar completely.
- When the vinegar solution has cooled, pour it into the glass bottle with the cut chillies. Store in a covered glass bottle and refrigerate. The pickled chilli will be ready as soon as they turn a lighter shade of green, about one to two hours, and can be stored in the fridge for weeks.
Noob Cook Tip
- If you don’t like to see too many seeds in your jar of pickled chilli, place the cut chillies in a colander and shake it energetically so that at least half of the seeds fall through the slotted holes in the colander.
- For best results, use authentic rice vinegar (main ingredients are water, wine and glutinous rice) rather than artificial/imitation vinegar.