Pickled Jalapeños

Hallo! Cat here. My sister Sara Beth is off galavanting the wide world as the people in our family are so want to do, so I'm signing in for a guest post. I'm writing from Berlin, Germany - but don't write me off the rugged-cooking-street-cred list just yet! While I can currently satisfy any culinary dream by a quick trip to a local grocer here, it has not always been so. I just returned to Europe from a 6 month stay in Tianjin, China and I'm going to write this post as if I was still there.

"An American to Mexican food is like a horse to water." - Australian traveler

Mexican food. It can change your life - or so Rob tells me. It's probably true. If there's anything I miss from America in my life abroad where ever I am, it's good Mexican food/TexMex/yuppie Mex/any kind of Mex. I think only the Uyghurs in far western China can satisfy my taste buds with the same culinary grace and symmetry. But, unfortunately, there are so many crucial little things that the Mexican's haven't yet shared with the Chinese- like limes, queso, jalapeños, black beans, sour cream, avocados, corn tortillas, taco seasoning.... It gets depressing quick trying to home-make something that takes like Taqueria del Sol. Well, talk to SB about the rest of her secrets in mimicking the Mexican cantina, but I'm going to share one of my own that'll get you just that one step closer to the culinary home away from home.


Jalapeños. Or The Explosion of the Original Green Pepper.


They don't actually have real jalapenos in China that I've found, but they certainly do have some HOT peppers. I've found that the long skinny green ones make a nice jalapeno substitute in pico de gallo, other salsa, or for this recipe for pickled jalapenos. In Chinese they are called 爆原青椒 (Bào yuán qīng jiāo) - if you put that in Google Translate it comes out as 'The Explosion of the Original Green Pepper". I find this fantastic and will refer to them as such when ever possible. You can easily find them at any vegetable seller's stall. The picture to the left is from Carrefour just so you can hypothetically see the name, but I'd actually recommend buying them from your local veggie seller. It's more fun. And cheaper. Bonus.


To pickle and thereby have them on hand for last minute mex fests, burger toppings, salsa toss ins, or anything else you can think of to do with them, do a rough approximation of the following recipe:


1 pound or pile of the explosion of the original green pepper, sliced
2.5 cups water
2.5 cups white vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp salt (coarser the better)
Seasonings: bay leaves, black pepper corns, garlic cloves. Get creative here and use what you've got. You really can't go wrong. Suggested amounts below.
         Couple of bay leaves
         3 whole cloves garlic, peeled
         2 Tbsp black pepper corns
         Another couple of Tbsp, tsp coriander or other favorite flavors.



Put those sliced peppers into a glass jar - just some recycled and washed mayo jar or jelly jar will work. Now bring all those other ingredients, minus your explosive peppers, to a boil. Once it gets there, reduce heat and summer for about 5 mins. That's your brine. Pour it (plus floaters!) over the peppers til they are completely covered with brine and goodies. Stir a few times then cap your jar and let it cool. Once cool, toss it in the fridge. Ideally, you'd wait a week before popping that jar open and enjoying your delightfully explosive original pickled green peppers, but I sometimes can't make it so long. They good just about whenever. From there, they'll keep for a few weeks or even a few months. With a recipe as easy as this, it makes every week a Mexican fiesta week. Ole.


That's it for your guest post from me for today. Just quick message for the people who know me - I miss you, Tianjin!


If you want to keep up with me - follow catnorman.tumblr.com or check out my photo site at www.catnorman.com. Tschüss!