Ingredients
- 3-4 chokos (chayote squash), 1135g.
- 1.25 cups water
- 1.5 cups soy sauce (dark or reduced salt versions are recommended)
- 1.25 cups rice vinegar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed (200g)
- 3-4 fresh jalapenos
- 6 garlic cloves
- fresh ginger, a few slices (optional)
Instructions
Vegetable Preparation
- Peel and de-seed the chokos, slice into 3-5mm slices, lengthwise.
- slice the garlic cloves into two or four pieces each.
- Slice the jalapenos and ginger if using.
The Brine
- In a saucepan, combine water, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar.
- Stirring occasionally, bring to a rapid boil over high heat, then remove.
- Allow the brine to cool for 4-5 minutes.
Pickling
- Toss produce together to ensure a random assortment of ingredients, then fill jars close to the top, but not too packed that the liquid will struggle to weave through.
- Pour the brine over the vegetables and seal jars tightly.
- Allow jars to sit at room temperature for a couple of days.
- Any jars that have achieved a pressure seal can exist outside of a refrigerator, any failures will need to be chilled and consumed first, but will be fridge stable for months.
Notes
- Original recipe suggests to leave the skin on, but my chokos are always so gnarly by the time I get to process them into a variety of pickles - I choose to remove their skins as habit to avoid the risk of bacterial corruption.
- You can add or substitute some chunky cut onion pieces for any of the vegetables if you want.
- This pickle is traditionally made for cucumbers, but you can pickle pretty much any green vegetable using this method.
- You can use whatever soy sauce or sugar you like. I prefer to use reduced soy and white or raw sugar. It is more traditional to use dark soy and brown sugar, but you could use regular or even GF soy sauce if needed/ desired - it may just be more salty (so, consider replacing some of the sauce volume with water)
- My husband loves these pickles! Which is impressive in and of itself...
- I love how many chokos I can use up for very little effort compared to other pickles I prefer to consume, whilst knowing they will definitely be eaten by someone.
- I say "serves - 1", but I really mean it's one batch and I have one husband who is capable of consuming one whole batch... (realistically, its a pickle - so, make good choices and consider your digestive history before over stuffing yourself like some metaphorical festive fowl).