How to Make Pickled Vegetables

I think one of the most quintessential summer foods is pickled vegetables. Pickling vegetables give it a tangy, slightly sour taste that pairs really well with other fresh summer foods. Some great dishes that go well with pickled vegetables are banh mi, burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and barbecue. The list goes on and on. Personally, I just like to eat them individually. This week I was feeling like making a homemade banh mi sandwich, so I thought I would start with pickling some vegetables. This blog post is essentially part 1 of my banh mi sandwich post. I hope you enjoy it, and stay tuned for part 2 next week!

All about vinegar and water

I like to use a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water, but I encourage everyone to experiment with this ratio. Personally, I like my pickles a little more on the sour side which is why I use this ratio. If you like pickled vegetables that are less sour, use less vinegar and more water, and vice versa if you want something thats more sour.

I also encourage experimentation with different vinegars. I used apple cider vinegar and distilled vinegar to pickle my vegetables. I used apple cider for one jar, distilled for one jar, and a mixture of both for another jar. I like both, but I personally prefer the clean flavors of distilled vinegar. It is also the vinegar my mom used growing up for all our pickled vegetables. You can use any combination of vinegars for pickling depending on the flavor you want to impart to your vegetables.

Which vegetables I like to pickle

You can pickle almost any vegetable, but mostly I like to make pickled carrots and pickled daikon or pickled mustard greens.

Glass jars are the best!

I personally like to store mine in glass jars with clamps because they are the most airtight containers you can find. They also don’t have any metal on the inside of the jar which can sometimes rust with pickling. In the past, I’ve tried pickled vegetables with a metal lid and found rust after a few days which is gross!!

Do you need to boil vinegar for pickling?

The short answer is no. However, I would highly recommend boiling the pickling solution before using it because it helps the flavors blend together better. I’ve made pickled vegetables with and without boiling the solution, and the vegetables taste a lot better with boiled liquid.

What is the key to quick pickle vegetables?

The key to a quick pickle vegetable in my experience is the size you cut your vegetables and the type of vegetables you use. Smaller vegetable pieces will pickle faster than larger vegetable pieces. I cut my vegetables pretty small, so these vegetables will pickle in a few hours.

How I like to enjoy pickled vegetables

You can eat pickled vegetables with almost anything. In Vietnamese culture, we use pickled vegetables as a way to balance out some of the richer flavors in our dishes. Some examples of Vietnamese dishes that utilize pickled vegetables are: Bun Cha Hanoi, Bo Luc Lac, Banh Mi, and Com Suon or Com Tam in general.

Did you make these pickled vegetables?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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