Marinated Asian Cucumbers

Helloodles everybody!
I have been running errands and doing a multitude of things which have kept me rather busy the last few days. I wanted to post a recipe for something super easy, not long to make, and taste bud delightful.
I make these marinated Asian pickles when ever I want to brighten up a meal or am craving something pickled that tastes a bit different from the usual store bought dills.
I make a huge portion because my family zips through these so fast, I wouldn't get any if I didn't. The recipe calls for a much smaller portion which is perfect for a mason jar, not the small jam size but more the medium pickling size. We have these big glass jars left over from the pickles my mom loves that are very briny-yuck to me but one person's candy is another person's poison. Anywhoodles, I always ask her to save me the jars and she does so I get to re-purpose them for loads of D.I.Y projects and recipes. I know you will like these, they don't last as long as typical pickles but that's not such a bad thing, I find they taste best the first 48 hours; ours are eaten up within 3 days so I can't really tell you how long they would last but I would suggest up to 5-7 days max. Here you go...

MARINATED ASIAN PICKLES:

Ingredients:
-1 pkg Slim baby cucumbers(8-10 small), cut up on different angles to give a bit of a funky shape, leave the skins on them.
-2/3 Cup Rice vinegar
-1/4 Gluten-free Tamari sauce or Coconut aminos
-1 -3 Tbsp Fish seasoning (this is optional, add more Tamari if you omit but I like the extra sour tang it adds)
-1/4 Cup Organic Coconut sugar aka palm sugar, you can use more depending on how sweet/sour you like your pickles to be. Just taste your pickling mix after all is made and add what you want a stronger or milder taste of taste of before throwing in the pickles.
-1/4 Cup hot water (You can add more if it's too vinegary. Rice vinegar strength varies from brand to brand, so sometimes more water is needed and sometimes less)
-1 tsp Kosher salt
-1 Tbsp Black sesame seeds

Method:
-Add all ingredients, except the cucumber, in the jar (ignore the sesame oil in the pic below, he was lonely and snuck in to hang with his friends). Shake well, taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference but only 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp at a time of each ingredient. Salt starts with way less because you can add but you cannot take away. If you find it's not vinegary enough add another Tbsp.
-Some people like their pickles sweet, vinegary, with a bit of heat. Feel free to ass 1 tsp hot chili sauce if you like.
-Once the seasoning is to your taste, add the pickles, tightly screw the cover, shake it up, then refrigerate overnight; making sure to shake it every 2 hours for the first 6 hours.
-Serve them as a side dish to fish, meat, vegetarian dishes, even add them to a regular salad or eat a few just like that but be warned, they are addictive!

I know this recipe is a bit, add a dash here, a touch there, but the truth is that pickles are a personal thing. I can't stand bread and butter pickles because I prefer a sour tang pickle but one of my friends just adores them and can polish off a whole jar-whoa la!!
I like dill, sour, and crispy snap, my mom prefers brine and garlicky, my son likes dill, garlic and hot peppers, my man likes what ever you give him because he is wonderfully non fussy. I say, PLAY!
I think that's what I enjoy the most about this recipe, the flavours are different and can be tailored, but the real kicker is adding that soy and rice vinegar which couples beautifully with the black sesame.






I ate mine on a salad and they tasted so good, we also served them with some black rice noodles I found but I will post a recipe with those another day. Remember to share with those you love, leave your comments below and don't forget to subscribe!