Pickled Green Chili. Goes together with fried noodles. Like horse and carriage. In Singapore there are some noodles that we eat which are perfectly matched with these chili and if we don’t have it, well, we’d be very unhappy.
Goes with Fried Rice Vermicelli. Goes with Wonton Meen (Singapore-style wonton noodles, different from Hong-Kong style.) Goes with Hor Fun (“Wet-fry” Flat Rice Noodles). Only these pickled green chili would cut it.
Nope. Jalapeno pepper from Papa Johns is not the same.
There is no substitute. Don’t offer chili sauce–or fresh cut red chili, or pickled red chili (we don’t have such a thing)–instead. You would be met with annoyance. We are so particular about the kinds of chili, and chili sauce we use to accompany certain foods.
I’ve not found our popular Pickled Green Chili here in my area. In Singapore we can buy them in jars. Years ago I lamented about this to my sister Bette who very unsympathetically told me: “Make your own.” But she did teach me to make it. It’s easy and tastes just like how they have it at the hawker stalls. And it is fun to make.
The right chili
Because this pickled chili is not too spicy the only thing you need to get right is to buy the right green chili. I prefer to use the same chili as the ones we use in Asia. Then regular distilled vinegar, salt and sugar is all you need.
Heat alert: the teeny (about 2 inches long), Thai chili, or bird’s eye chili is very spicy! Even with the correct chili, I prefer it when the chili is not super spicy. In my opinion Pickled Green Chili should not be overly hot. Avoid these Thai chili below for this pickle.
The correct ones are finger peppers, which you can find in Asian supermarkets in the DC area. I found a slightly fatter chili called Korean mild chili, and decided to buy them both and test the difference in taste. Can you tell them apart? They’re each about 4 or 5 inches long.
After I pickled the two, the tastes of the chili were slightly different. Interesting. The Korean mild chili was not as spicy (which I liked) but when cut they were bigger rounds. I’m picky. One piece of that fat chili is just a little big for a mouthful of noodles. It also looked a little less delicate. Cosmetics aside, they are both good and authentic enough for me. Now I think I can make two lots and offer one jar as the spicier one. Have a look at the two, below.
Serrano chili (shown below) is also a good substitute. My daughter uses these because she can’t find Finger Peppers where she lives. They are the perfect size and taste right, just a little spicy. I haven’t tried other peppers–Anaheim, banana–popular here. Taste aside, they look too big for this Pickled Green Chili.
No need for exact measures
In this recipe, you can do the Asian thing and not use measuring spoons and cups. Basically, buy a packet of the chili, usually sold slightly less than one pound per pack. Cut and follow steps in recipe.
Fill one or two jars with the chili. Add vinegar to fill slightly over the chili. Then add sugar, stir and keep tasting until it is sweet enough for you. Same with the salt. Below I’m giving you an estimate.
Pickled Green Chili
Makes 1 jar
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes for prep, about 24 hours sitting on counter to brine
1 pound (500 grams) green chili (preferably Finger Pepper variety)
1½-2 cups distilled vinegar
6-7 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon salt
Hot water
Rinse chili well and slice off stems. Cut chili crosswise to about ¼-⅓ inch (8-10 mm) wide slices.
Place cut chili in a plastic bag and add 2 tablespoons salt.
Seal bag and toss the chili in the bag to mix the salt well with sliced pepper. Set aside at room temperature for 3 hours. Toss the bag to mix salt into chili once or twice.
At the end of 3 hours, the chili will have exuded some juices and is a little limp, which is perfect for pickling.
Boil about 2 quarts (2 liters) water. Empty chili from bag into a colander. Rinse chili with the hot water. Stir the chili with a spoon while rinsing to loosen the seeds.
Leave chili to drain and cool for about 30 minutes. Spoon into a glass jar, discarding seeds. Add vinegar to cover chili. Then add sugar, stirring with a long spoon or chopsticks to dissolve. Test for sweetness after you’ve added about 4 or 5 tablespoons. (It does need a lot of sugar. The vinegar should be slightly sweet.) Add 1 teaspoon salt and test for taste.
Tighten bottle and leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Refrigerate. Pickled chili will keep for a long time as long as you use a clean spoon to take chili out!
NOTES
Use kitchen gloves if you are sensitive to the hot chili.
When adding sugar to taste, the sugar will end up at the bottom of the bottle. Tighten the cap and turn upside down and shake to dissolve sugar.
