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Chinese pickled cucumbers add a refreshing taste to any meal, are great as a snack all on their own, and can be ready overnight! {Vegan, Gluten-Free adaptable}

Chinese Pickled Cucumber (A Quick Pickle Recipe)

5 from 5 votes
Chinese pickled cucumbers add a refreshing taste to any meal, are great as a snack all on their own, and can be ready overnight! {Vegan, Gluten-Free adaptable}
To make this dish gluten free, use tamari to replace soy sauce.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Pickling time: 1 day
Total Time: 1 day 10 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: home style
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

  • 1 to 1 1/2 lbs (450 g to 680 g) persian cucumbers , cut into spears (or kirby, or English cucumber) (*Footnote 1)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher (or sea salt)
  • 2 cloves garlic , lightly crushed

Brine

Instructions

  • Add cucumber into a big bowl. Sprinkle salt over the sliced cucumbers and gently toss them with your hands so the cucumbers are evenly coated. Rest for 30 minutes to an hour, tossing them occasionally.
  • Once the cucumbers are done resting, drain off the liquid that has collected in the bottom of the container and gently rinse the cucumbers with cold water to remove the excess salt. Place the rinsed cucumbers and garlic cloves into a heat-proof, sealable container or mason jars. Make sure to arrange the cucumbers to be packed together, without too much excess space between them.
  • Heat the sichuan peppercorns and dried chilis over medium-low heat in a small pot. Toss the spices until fragrant, around 1 minute.
  • Once the spices are fragrant add the vinegar, water, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
  • Pour the hot brine over the cucumbers until they are completely covered.
  • Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature and seal the container.
  • Let the cucumbers pickle overnight in the fridge and enjoy!

Notes

  1. Depending on the container you use, you might be able to fit in more cucumbers. I used 16 oz mason jars and I could fit 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) of cucumber into them. The best way is to slice the cucumbers and pack them in your jar so you’ll have the perfect quantity. Note, the cucumbers will shrink a bit after adding the salt, so you might want to prepare just a few more slices of cucumber.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 9kcal, Carbohydrates: 2.2g, Protein: 0.4g, Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 46mg, Potassium: 85mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 1.1g, Calcium: 9mg