Chinese pickled cucumbers add a refreshing taste to any meal, are great as a snack all on their own, and can be ready overnight! {Vegan, Gluten-Free adaptable}
I must admit that I adore pickles. Pickling vegetables of any kind is a great way to preserve your produce, so you can quickly add some veggies to your meal throughout the week. Plus, when you make your own pickles, you not only save money but also avoid preservatives.
You might be used to the dill, sour, or half-sour American pickles. I really enjoy all of them, though there’s something to be said about Chinese pickled cucumbers.
All you need is some clean mason jars (or simply a tupperware container) and you can have my Chinese pickled cucumber recipe ready to enjoy the next day!
Types of cucumbers for pickling
The best cucumbers for pickling are Persian, Kirby (also labeled as pickling cucumbers), and English cucumbers. These cucumbers have a less watery texture and a thinner skin than the regular dark colored garden cucumbers that are more common in US grocery stores.
If you use Persian cucumbers, you can simply quarter them lengthwise to create the spear shape.
For Kirby and English cucumbers, I would cut the cucumbers into three pieces lengthwise, then further cut each piece into three spears. I also discard the core part, which contains mostly seeds and has a soggy texture.
I prefer Persian cucumbers, because they are the perfect size for most mason jars. If you’re using other types of cucumber, make sure the pieces you cut are short enough to fit in a jar.
Cooking process
Making Chinese pickled cucumbers is super easy.
- Cut the cucumbers and make sure they fit into the jars (or containers) you’ll use.
- Sprinkle salt onto the cucumbers, let them sit for an hour, and then drain them. This process will create a crunchier texture.
- Lightly toast the dried peppers and Sichuan peppercorns to release the aroma.
- Boil them with the rest of the ingredients.
- Stuff the cucumbers in clean mason jars and pour the hot brine over them. Let them marinate overnight.
These pickled cucumbers will be ready overnight. You can also let them pickle for longer, but you should at least wait 24 hours to enjoy them to get all the flavors in there.
As for the storage time, the pickled cucumbers should last a few weeks in your fridge, as long as you use clean mason jars. You can even sanitize your jars by boiling them in water to eliminate any microbes, although I rarely do so and my pickles never go bad before I finish them all.
A little garlic, white vinegar, salt, soy sauce, and sugar really create the kind of pickled treat you’ll want to keep eating and eating. With summer on the way, Chinese pickled cucumbers are an easy way to sneak more veggies into your meals. They crunch great with lunch alongside my banh mi sandwich or with any dinner you choose.
How to serve Chinese pickled cucumbers
My favorite ways to serve these pickled cucumbers are:
- As an appetizer to your meal, accompanied by rice and other courses.
- Top them on congee and noodles with runny soy sauce eggs and a drizzle of homemade chili oil for a quick snack.
- Make a quick sandwich using your leftover roast chicken.
- Serve it alongside fried food, such as salt and pepper chicken or Chinese fried pork chops, to cut the grease and balance your dish.
I also enjoy having them for a snack whenever I need to satisfy my craving for savory and crunchy. It’s a much better alternative than turning to a bag of chips!
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Chinese Pickled Cucumber (A Quick Pickle Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/2 lbs (450 g to 680 g) persian cucumbers , cut into spears (or kirby, or English cucumber) (*Footnote 1)
- 1 teaspoon kosher (or sea salt)
- 2 cloves garlic , lightly crushed
Brine
- 1/4 teaspoon sichuan peppercorns
- 2 dried chilis
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Add cucumber into a big bowl. Sprinkle salt over the sliced cucumbers and gently toss them with your hands so the cucumbers are evenly coated. Rest for 30 minutes to an hour, tossing them occasionally.
- Once the cucumbers are done resting, drain off the liquid that has collected in the bottom of the container and gently rinse the cucumbers with cold water to remove the excess salt. Place the rinsed cucumbers and garlic cloves into a heat-proof, sealable container or mason jars. Make sure to arrange the cucumbers to be packed together, without too much excess space between them.
- Heat the sichuan peppercorns and dried chilis over medium-low heat in a small pot. Toss the spices until fragrant, around 1 minute.
- Once the spices are fragrant add the vinegar, water, soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil.
- Pour the hot brine over the cucumbers until they are completely covered.
- Allow the pickles to cool to room temperature and seal the container.
- Let the cucumbers pickle overnight in the fridge and enjoy!
Notes
- Depending on the container you use, you might be able to fit in more cucumbers. I used 16 oz mason jars and I could fit 1 1/2 lbs (680 g) of cucumber into them. The best way is to slice the cucumbers and pack them in your jar so you’ll have the perfect quantity. Note, the cucumbers will shrink a bit after adding the salt, so you might want to prepare just a few more slices of cucumber.
Nutrition
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
More Chinese appetizer recipes
- Chinese Pickled Cabbage (A Quick Pickle Recipe)
- Three-Ingredient Quick Pickled Watermelon Radish
- Easy Chinese Cucumber Salad
- Crispy Tofu with Garlic Sauce (without Deep-Frying)
- Szechuan Spicy Peanuts (Huang Fei Hong Spicy Peanuts)
- Wood Ear Mushroom Salad
Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.
The best way to measure liquid needed to fill a jar is to fill with material to be pickled…fill jar with water…pour out water into measuring cup, this is amount of brine to make. No waste.
Great idea! Never thought of this… Will definitely try out next time. Thanks for the tip Fred 🙂
I bet the addition of sesame oil is wonderful! Love a good pickle 🙂
Hey Maggie, Thanks for the post! I found your site last week and did a quick pickle search with no results. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find this on the front page! I’m currently living in China, so any quick, easy, time and money saving recipes like this are fantastic. I’m going to try variations like carrot and daikon after I give the cucumbers a go!
Hi Angela, happy to hear you like Chinese pickles and thanks for leaving a comment! There are many ways to create pickles in China and I cannot wait to share more 🙂 I’ve never tried using this marinade for carrot and daikon. Looking forward to hearing your cooking result!
Happy cooking and have a great day!
Fantastic pickles! I made them with Kirby cucumbers, but recipe as is. Sooo delicious.
Hello! Is taking out the peppercorn or chilis change the flavoring ? I have young children at home – we love pickled cucumbers, but not the spicy. Thank you!
Hi Selina, the chilis add more of a fragrance and it doesn’t really add spiciness (as long as you use very mild chilies). The peppercorns add aroma and a hint of numbing zesty to the taste. If you prefer to skip the chilis, I would highly recommend to keep the peppercorns so it adds a nice taste. That’s being said, I think it still makes a delicious pickle if you decide to skip both.
Thanks for this wonderful, easy recipe! In a second batch I added whole toasted cumin and it was delicious.
I’m glad to hear it! Toasted cumin sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it out next time 🙂
I made it last night and I am eating today!! Very good.
Easy and delicious. Thx.
Like many have said, it is very easy to make. However my young children did not like it. Too much spicy and they got sick. I am not sure I will make it again.
Is the garlic supposed to turn blue?
I have been given the long cucumbers and there are too many to eat. I usually make pickles with my short cucumbers in a hot water bath. Can I do this with your recipe? Want to store long term.
Hi Robin, I’m sure you can. I think the shorter cucumbers produce a better texture but the long ones will work just fine.
Great recipe. I tried it and tasted very delicious.
Can I use the same recipe for Green Chillies? ( not the Capsicum)
I’m pretty sure you can although I’ve not tried it. I’m working on a pickled pepper recipe right now and it will be on blog shortly 🙂
My one cucumber plant is going crazy and this was a great find thanks to my CSA group. Love to pick the cuc’s when they are small and have great texture. The flavor of these are a nice change from my standard dill version.
These sound fabulous. Is it possible to use this recipe to waterbath can for longer storage?
Hi Dawn, it’s possible to waterbath can for this recipe. I highly recommend to use kirby cucumber (pickling cucumber) so the texture won’t become soggy.
I am looking for a recipe that can be canned in water bath .
Can this one be canned ? Sherry
Hi Sherry, you can use canning method for this recipe. I highly recommend to use kirby cucumber (pickling cucumber) so the texture won’t become soggy.
I made these last night and I am loving them today. They will be a staple in my fridge from now on, thank you! I actually did 50/50 rice wine vinegar and distilled because that’s what I had in the pantry. They taste great.
How far ahead can these be made?
You can always make it a day or two ahead as long as you don’t mix the dressing. The salt from the dressing will keep extract the water from the cucumber and becomes watery.
That being said, I’ve tried making it during lunch time and eat it at dinner and it was perfectly fine.
What kind of dried chili do you use?
I used Chinese dried chili pepper. It’s a type of pepper that is not very spicy. You can find very similar chili at Korean and Japanese market as well. Other mild dried chili that is moderately smoky also works.