Houjicha Pickled Vegetables
Pickling vegetables is something that is a simple and easy way to bolster your fridge and upgrade your meals. Typically, I favor lacto-fermented vegetables but those take time and every once in a while I want pickles NOW!
One of the reasons that I don't gravitate towards pickles made with vinegar is because they tend to lack subtle layers of flavor . They can be aggressively sour and, depending on the brand, too sweet. It feels like the pickles are yelling at me.
One of the best ways that I know of to keep things interesting in a recipe is to create nuance. Think of this as a jump cut for your palate. Using tea as a brine for pickled vegetables adds this complexity. I’m not sure how I thought about using tea as a brine for pickled vegetables but after I wondered why it took so long to think up. I used Houjicha from Tap Twice Tea as the base of the brine. Houjicha is a green tea that has been roasted at a high temperature, which results in an increase in natural sweetness and a toasted, nutty and caramel-like flavor.
INGREDIENTS
1 c mixed vegetables: carrots, onion, cabbage, fennel, and/or cauliflower, chopped
1 c water
⅓ c white vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp Houjicha tea leaves
½ tsp chile flakes
DIRECTIONS
Place vegetables into a Mason jar.
In a small saucepan, heat water, vinegar, sugar, salt, tea and chile flakes over medium high heat. Cover. Remove from heat once boiling.
Pour liquid over the vegetables and loosely cover.
Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. The longer you leave the vegetables in the liquid, the stronger the flavor will be.
Yield: ~ 1 c of pickled vegetables
