Spicy, Refreshing Gochu Jangajji (Pickled Chili Peppers)

Ingredients

• You can prepare regular green chili peppers instead of Cheongyang chili peppers.
• Pour in 1/3 cup vinegar and enough water to submerge the peppers, rub them with your hands to remove residual pesticides, and rinse under running water.
• Pickling the peppers while their skins are tender allows the flavor to soak in quickly and makes them easy to chew; thick or tough peppers can also be finely minced or thinly sliced before pickling.

Steps

1. Prepare the ingredients

   

   The Cheongyang chili peppers are small, so there are quite a few.

   I counted 90 of them. You can also prepare regular green chili peppers.

2. Trim the peppers

   

   

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   Trim the stems of the chili peppers to a moderate length.

   Pour in 1/3 cup vinegar and enough water to submerge the peppers, rub them with your hands to remove any remaining debris or residual pesticides, and rinse several times under running water.

   

   

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   Remove as much moisture as possible, and prick the peppers with a fork or toothpick so the soy sauce liquid absorbs well.

3. Pour the soy sauce liquid

   

   

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   In a pot, add 2 cups regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang), 3 cups water, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 cups vinegar, and 1 tbsp salt, and bring to a rolling boil briefly.

   Take the boiled soy sauce liquid and pour it directly into the bowl with the peppers.

   You pour it immediately without cooling it down.

   

   

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   Stir occasionally until it cools completely, and the green peppers will take on the color of the soy sauce.

4. Aging and storage

   

   

   

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   Once it is completely cool, transfer everything to a container, pour in 1/2 cup soju, stir, and press down with a plate that fits the container so they do not float up.

   If the peppers do not stay fully submerged in the soy sauce liquid and float around, they will spoil. A few spoiled peppers will ruin the whole batch of pickles.

   Adding soju at the end provides a sterilizing effect, so you do not need to repeatedly boil the soy sauce liquid.

   Let it age at room temperature for about 5 days, then store it chilled in the refrigerator and bring it out to the table.

   The weather was warm and the peppers were small and tender, so the flavor infused quickly; once the flavor has absorbed properly, put it in the refrigerator.

5. Complete

   

   In the past, I seasoned pickles using only soy sauce, but the color became too dark and was not quite right.

   For pickles meant to be stored and eaten over a long time, I add salt and reduce the amount of soy sauce a bit to adjust it so a subtle soy sauce color develops.

   

   

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   Keep this in the refrigerator, and it will become a treasure of a side dish you will find yourself reaching for every now and then.

   Pickling when the pepper skins are tender allows the flavors to absorb quickly and makes chewing comfortable.

   For thick or tough peppers, you can also finely mince or slice them into strips to pickle.

Ppunwife's tips

• Pour the boiled soy sauce liquid immediately without letting it cool.
• If the peppers float instead of being fully submerged in the soy sauce liquid, they can spoil, so press them down with a plate that fits the container.
• Adding soju at the end provides a sterilizing effect, eliminating the need to repeatedly reboil the soy sauce liquid.
• For pickles meant to be stored and enjoyed over a long time, add salt and slightly reduce the amount of soy sauce to give them a subtle, balanced soy color.

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