Thai Pickles
Photography by Minka Firth.
This pickle is delicious with crispy fried calamari, pan-fried fish or chicken and as an accompaniment to small food such as wontons. It also makes a great salad with strips of poached chicken and cucumber.
INGREDIENTS
200 ml rice vinegar
150 ml caster sugar
125 ml fish sauce
2 coriander roots, scraped clean and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
200 grams julienned carrots
200 grams julienned daikon radish
3 cm piece ginger, julienned 2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 long red chilli, halved, seeded and finely sliced
2-3 small kaffir lime leaves
To serve
coriander leaves
METHOD
Place the rice vinegar, caster sugar, fish sauce, coriander roots, garlic and the shredded kaffir lime leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil, ensuring the sugar is dissolved. Simmer gently for 3 minutes. Pack the carrots, daikon radish, ginger, shallots, the chilli and the whole kaffir lime leaves into a sterilised jar. Strain the hot liquid onto the vegetables and seal the jar.
Cool and refrigerate.
To serve: Put as much pickle as required into a serving bowl leaving the liquid behind. Add fresh coriander leaves just before serving. Pickles will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups
To julienne: This term means to slice food, often vegetables, into thin, matchstick strips. This is most easily done using a mandolin but can also be done by hand. First cut into 1/•- inch-thick slices. Stack the slices and cut into 1/•-inch-thick strips. Cut into whatever length is desired.

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