Crispy & Delicious Pickled Cucumbers
Crispy & Delicious Pickled Cucumbers
Easy Recipe for Non-Spicy, Low-Sodium Pickled Onions and Cucumbers with the Perfect Ratio
Introducing these delightful pickled cucumbers, featuring the natural sweetness of fresh onions and a wonderfully crisp texture. They’re not spicy and have a perfectly balanced, mild flavor that makes you want to keep reaching for more. This recipe is perfect as a side dish for any meal, and even makes a tasty dipping sauce for pancakes! I’ll guide you through this simple yet delicious pickle recipe that the whole family can enjoy.
Ingredients (Water:Soy Sauce:Vinegar:Sugar = 3:1:1:1 Ratio)- 8 onions
- 4 cucumbers
- 3 Korean green chili peppers
- 6 cups water (approx. 1200ml)
- 2 cups soy sauce (approx. 400ml)
- 2 cups vinegar (approx. 400ml)
- 2 cups sugar (approx. 400ml)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Wash the cucumbers thoroughly under running water and trim off both ends. Then, slice them into pieces about 0.5cm thick. Slicing them slightly thicker rather than too thin will result in a much better, satisfying crunch.
Step 2
Cut the onions into bite-sized pieces, similar to the cucumber slices. To ensure uniform size, you can separate the inner and outer layers of the onion before cutting. (Cutting them into larger pieces as shown in the photo is also perfectly fine.)
Step 3
It can be tricky to figure out the right amount of brine when making pickles, right? Don’t worry! First, fill your pickling container generously with the prepared vegetables. Then, you only need to make enough brine to come up to about half the height of the vegetables. This ensures the brine evenly soaks into the ingredients for delicious pickles.
Step 4
When your container is full of vegetables, you’ll want to make brine that fills up to half the height of those vegetables. You can measure your container or estimate the volume visually. In this recipe example, the container was filled completely, and we aimed for a total of about 3 liters of brine based on the 3:1:1:1 ratio (total 6 parts). Since 1 part would be approximately 500ml (3000ml / 6), we’ve adjusted the 1 part ingredients to 400ml each for a milder flavor.
Step 5
Measure and combine 1200ml of water, 400ml of soy sauce, 400ml of vinegar, and 400ml of sugar according to the ratio calculated.
Step 6
For a touch of spicy kick, finely chop 3 Korean green chili peppers and add them to the brine. If you prefer less spice or are serving to children, feel free to adjust the amount of chili peppers or omit them altogether.
Step 7
Pour all the prepared water, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar into a pot. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, continue to simmer for another 2-3 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate and the flavors to meld together.
Step 8
Carefully pour the hot brine directly over the prepared vegetables in your container. (If using a glass container, sterilizing it by boiling in water beforehand will ensure better hygiene. For plastic containers, it’s best to let the hot brine cool slightly in a separate stainless steel bowl before pouring it into the plastic container to prevent warping.)
Step 9
You can enjoy these pickles right after they’re made! Once the brine cools down a bit, the flavors will start to infuse, making them ready to eat immediately.
Step 10
I let mine sit for a day or two in the refrigerator before enjoying them. Since the vegetables might float, place a small plate or weight on top to keep them submerged in the brine. A proper pickling weight would also work wonderfully.
Step 11
This is what they look like after two days. You can see that the vegetables have softened slightly and the overall volume has reduced as they’ve absorbed the brine.
Step 12
After two days, they tasted absolutely delicious! The crisp texture remained, and the flavor was mild and not too salty, making them perfect to eat with rice. They have a captivating taste that makes you want to eat them again and again.
