Spicy & Tangy Assorted Jangajji and Easy Cucumber Pickles for Summer Recipe
As summer approaches, try making both Korean jangajji (장아찌) and Western-style pickles to whet your appetite. We'll share a simple pickling brine recipe and Debbie's Kitchen's special cucumber pickle recipe.
📋 2 recipes — Select to view
A soy sauce-based pickled vegetable (jangajji) dish that uses various seasonal vegetables, perfect for a hearty enjoyment all summer long.
📝 Editor's Notes
Assorted Sweet and Sour Pickled Vegetables (Jangajji) are the perfect side dish to boost your appetite during summer.
Made with a variety of seasonal vegetables, they boast an exquisite harmony of crisp texture and sweet-sour flavors.
The soy sauce-based pickling brine enhances the natural taste of the vegetables while adding a deep umami.
While the preparation might take some effort, you'll feel rewarded knowing you can enjoy it for a long time.
It's especially great as a 'rice thief' (bap-doduk) when it's too hot to cook over a stove in summer.
The difficulty level is low-to-medium, so anyone can make it deliciously by following the steps carefully.
🛒 Ingredient Tips
For cucumbers, choose ones with distinct bumps, firm to the touch, and heavy.
Look for a deep green, glossy skin.
For Cheongyang peppers (Cheongyang-gochu), select those with fresh stems, vibrant color, and a firm texture.
Avoid any that are too soft or discolored.
For ponytail radishes (chonggak-mu), it's best to choose ones with fresh greens, a firm radish part, and minimal rootlets.
For lotus roots, select those covered in soil and free of blemishes.
A good lotus root will have a white cut surface and distinct open holes.
Using seasonal vegetables will result in fresher and more delicious pickled vegetables (jangajji), so we recommend choosing them yourself at the market.
🔄 Substitution Guide
Instead of cucumbers, you can use Korean zucchini (aemohobak) for a softer textured pickled vegetable.
Korean zucchini contains more water than cucumbers, so lightly salting it and draining the water before pickling will yield a crisper texture.
If Cheongyang peppers (Cheongyang-gochu) are too spicy for your taste, you can substitute them with shishito peppers (kkwarigochu) or crispy green peppers (asagigochu).
Shishito peppers offer a milder spiciness, while crispy green peppers add a refreshing and crunchy taste.
If garlic scapes (maneul-jong) are unavailable, whole garlic cloves can be used.
Whole garlic can be blanched or pickled raw, but it may have a stronger aroma and firmer texture than garlic scapes.
The taste and texture will vary slightly depending on the characteristics of each ingredient, so choose according to your preference.
🥘 Ingredients
👨🍳 Cooking Points
The most crucial cooking point lies in preparing the pickling brine.
The key is to first boil only the water, salt, and sugar until completely dissolved, then allow it to cool sufficiently.
Boiling soy sauce and vinegar together can create a strong, unpleasant odor and alter the flavor, so always mix them in separately.
The second point is lotus root preparation.
After peeling the lotus root, blanch it immediately in vinegared water to prevent browning and remove stickiness.
It's important not to rinse it with water but to drain it in a sieve and cool it to maintain its crisp texture.
Finally, when filling the container, arrange the harder vegetables first, packing them tightly without gaps.
When pouring the brine, fill it completely so that almost no air remains, which is essential for long-term storage without spoilage.
Remember these points, and you'll be able to make delicious pickled vegetables (jangajji) without failure.
👨🍳 Directions
In a pot, combine 1 liter of water, 15 g of salt, and 500 g of sugar. Bring to a boil until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved, then let it cool slightly.
Once the pickling brine has cooled to lukewarm or completely cooled, mix in 800 ml of soy sauce and 800 ml of vinegar. (Mixing all ingredients and boiling them together can create a strong odor, so it's best to boil only the water, cool it, and then add the soy sauce and vinegar.)
Peel 1 lotus root and slice it into 3-4 mm thick pieces. Immediately immerse them in water to prevent browning. In a pot of boiling water, add a splash of vinegar, then blanch the lotus root slices for 2-3 minutes. Do not rinse with water; simply drain them in a sieve and let them cool.
Trim both ends of 2 onions, then cut them into pieces approximately half the size of your thumb (about 2.5 cm or 1 inch). Separate the layers.
Cut 300 g of celery into pieces about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long, slightly smaller than the onions.
Cut 300 g of garlic scapes (maneul-jong) into 5 cm (2 inch) lengths.
Slice 6 ponytail radishes (chonggak-mu) into round pieces about 4-5 mm thick. If any part is too thick, halve it before slicing.
Remove the bumps from 4 cucumbers and scrape out the seeds with a small spoon. Pat the cucumbers dry with a paper towel, then slice them into pieces similar in size to the onions (about 2.5 cm or 1 inch).
Take half of the 300 g Cheongyang peppers (Cheongyang-gochu) and poke 6-7 holes in each with a toothpick. For the other half, finely chop them into pieces no longer than 1 cm (about 7-8 mm), remove the seeds, and place them in a bowl.
In a sterilized container, arrange the vegetables tightly, starting with the harder ones: ponytail radishes (chonggak-mu), garlic scapes (maneul-jong), lotus root, celery, onions, cucumbers, and Cheongyang peppers (Cheongyang-gochu).
Pour the lukewarm or completely cooled pickling brine into the container until it is full. Ensure there is almost no air remaining to prevent the vegetables from floating. Close the lid tightly and store in the refrigerator.
You can start enjoying the pickled vegetables two days after making them.
💡 Tips
Prepare the pickling brine in advance by boiling and then cooling it. Boiling soy sauce and vinegar together can create a strong odor.
To remove the sticky mucilage from lotus root and prevent browning, it's best to blanch it and then cool it immediately without rinsing with water.
For Cheongyang peppers (Cheongyang-gochu), you can adjust the spiciness according to your preference by either poking holes in them whole with a toothpick or finely chopping them and removing the seeds.
To prevent air exposure, fill a tall jar tightly with the jangajji ingredients. For longer storage, after about a week, drain the brine, bring it to a boil again, let it cool completely, and then pour it back over the vegetables. This will extend their shelf life.
📦 Storage & Reuse
Once prepared, the assorted pickled vegetables (jangajji) must be refrigerated.
Store them in a sterilized, sealed container in the refrigerator, and they will stay fresh for about a month.
If you wish to store them longer, after about a week, drain only the pickling brine, bring it to a boil once more, let it cool completely, and then pour it back over the vegetables.
This can extend the preservation period to over two months.
Don't discard the leftover brine; you can use it to pickle other vegetables or as a salad dressing.
Jangajji tastes best when served chilled, so it's recommended to serve it straight from the refrigerator rather than letting it sit out.
🥢 Who This Is For
These assorted pickled vegetables (jangajji) are excellent as a summer side dish.
They are especially great for boosting appetite when you feel drained from sweating a lot.
If you enjoy spiciness, feel free to add more Cheongyang peppers (Cheongyang-gochu).
Eating them with a bowl of warm rice with water (mal-bap) and a piece of jangajji is so satisfying that you won't need any other side dishes.
They also complement greasy foods like samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) or bossam (boiled pork wraps), cutting through the richness and adding a refreshing taste.
They are also perfect as a packed lunch item for camping or picnics.
🔥 Nutrition Info
This recipe features a rich array of vegetables, making it high in dietary fiber, and uses a pickling brine based on soy sauce and vinegar.
Based on the ingredient amounts provided, one serving is estimated to be approximately 150-200 kcal.
Carbohydrates, from sugar and vegetable sugars, are estimated to be about 30-40 g, with small amounts of protein and fat, approximately 2-5 g.
Lotus root, in particular, is rich in iron and Vitamin C, which can help with fatigue recovery and immune system enhancement.
Cucumbers and celery, with their high water content, are good for quenching thirst during the summer.
However, as the recipe uses a significant amount of soy sauce, the sodium content can be high, so it is important to consume in moderation.
💬 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!