December 28, 2006
Chinese Pickled Vegetables
Call it a Chinese salad if you want to!
This appetizer reminds me of the Pickled Vegetables I eat in Chinese restaurants before a meal. Even before you order the dishes, the waiter places a small dish of Pickled Vegetables on the table. Sometimes they give you peanuts. And you know what.. the restaurant charges for these Pickled Vegetables, together with the Chinese tea and paper towels. So even before you place any orders, boom! you already incur a cost to the meal. These pickled vegetables stimulate your appetite so you may end up ordering more! Either way, the restaurant wins.
I should have done some research on how to make this Chinese Pickled Vegetables during my first trimester when I was having my all-day-sickness. The spiciness coupled with the sourness of the Pickled Vegetables would have made my day!
Here is the easy Chinese recipe from the recipe book: Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian cuisine.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cucumber, seeded and julienned
- 3/4 cup carrot, julienned
- 6 shallots (diced) - I did not have shallots, so I used red onions instead
- 12 small red chili peppers - I had a mix of red and green ones
- 1 1/2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp vinegar - I used rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
Mix them all up and chill them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. This is an appetizer you can definitely prepare ahead of time because it is best eaten chilled.
Note: This Chinese Pickled Vegetable recipe is different from the bottled Acar you see from the Singapore supermarkets. That is a Nonya (Straits Chinese) pickle called Acar Acar (pronounced as “ah-char”). The Nonya version is made by first preparing a spice paste called rempah, then mixing the rempah with the rest of the vegetables. The rempah comprises of shallots, garlic, red chilies, dried chilies, turmeric, lemon grass, galangal, candlenuts and shrimp paste. Too much work for me to make that!
This Chinese Pickled Vegetables dish is good enough for me.
Bite This!
More recipes:
Early Chinese New Year Greetings
Easy Chinese Recipe: Pork and Szechuan Vegetable
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December 28th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
What? They charge for all that? They usually only bring us tea before the meal. No veggies…and we have to ask for forks and water most of the time.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
I’m gonna assume that you’re pregnant. Congratulations! I used to work for a pregnancy magazine.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:43 am
i love pickled carrots! i will try this. :D i usually eat these in vietnamese sandwiches.
December 29th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
DF - Maybe this only happens in Singapore Chinese restaurants. The only Chinese restaurant I go to occasionally in the Bay Area is Mayflower! No Chinese pickles served in that one.
Ray - Hehe. Thanks! Which magazine would you recommend?
Hi Buddingcook, thanks for returning! What is Vietnamese sandwich? Are you going to make it and post it in your blog? ;)
December 31st, 2006 at 8:19 am
Yes, these are yummy. Mum prepares something similar if she bought extra veggies.
December 31st, 2006 at 11:38 am
Hmms.. I could try to make it and display it. :) It’s meat in french bread. hehe