Top 20 Easy-to-Make Pickled Delicacies to Keep Meals Exciting

Pickled mustard greens are a traditional Vietnamese dish that has been enjoyed for generations. With a spicy kick similar to Korean kimchi, making pickled mustard greens at home is surprisingly simple. Store-bought pickles often lack hygiene standards and may contain foreign objects, risking digestive discomfort. Take control by preparing pickled mustard greens at home, ensuring safety and enjoyment for the whole family. The ingredients for pickled mustard greens include mustard greens, ginger, salt, and optionally sugar or vinegar for faster pickling. Make sure to clean the vegetables thoroughly to avoid grittiness and sun-dry them for a day to maintain their crunchiness and freshness.

Pickled eggplant, whether whole or sliced, offers a crunchy texture and a uniquely tangy flavor. This pickled cucumber dish aids in detoxifying the body, stabilizing blood pressure, and providing essential nutrients like magnesium, potassium, and fiber, beneficial for individuals with fluctuating blood pressure, whether high or low. Rich in fiber content alongside its sweet taste and cooling properties, it promotes digestive health. Ingredients required for this pickled cucumber dish include rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, sea salt, evenly sized cucumbers, some sprigs of dill, and carrot flowers. Prepare the pickling liquid by combining sugar, salt, rice vinegar in warm water, then add minced garlic, fresh chili, and dill into the mixture and stir well. Place the cucumbers in a glass jar and pour the pickling liquid over them, leaving it at room temperature for 3 to 5 days before consuming. This type of pickled cucumbers can be stored for a considerable time if tightly sealed and kept in the refrigerator.

The pickled vegetable medley comprising carrots and white radish or papaya offers a delightful crunch with a harmonious blend of sweet, sour, and salty flavors, reducing the greasiness of oily dishes. The slender strips of carrots and white radish, or papaya, soak up the tangy, spicy, and sweet marinade, creating an inviting aroma with every bite. Prepare the following ingredients: large carrots, white radish or papaya, garlic, salt, sugar, vinegar, and fish sauce, finely sliced or cut into decorative shapes. Mix equal parts of vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add thinly sliced garlic into the mixture, and let it cool, creating the pickling liquid. Place the carrots and white radish or papaya into a glass jar, pour the pickling liquid over them, and leave them for a day. Your tantalizing dish is ready to accompany your family meals.

A traditional dish enjoyed during Tet holidays in Vietnam. The iron content in winter melon helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, counteracting the richness of fatty meat dishes. Fructo-oligosaccharides in winter melon stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon and help reduce the risk of developing colon cancer, alleviating bloating and constipation. Proper preparation is key to creating delicious winter melon pickles. The required ingredients include winter melon, salt, sugar, water, and vinegar. A secret to ensuring that the pickled winter melon is not too salty: dissolve baking soda in water, then immerse the winter melon overnight.

Bean sprouts are a common ingredient in daily family meals, aiding in digestion and promoting good absorption, preventing bloating when consuming large amounts. Rich in nutrients and vitamins, high in protein (equivalent to milk) yet low in calories, suitable for those on a weight loss diet. This pickled bean sprout dish is quick to make, with ingredients seemingly more abundant than pickled cabbage. When consumed, the tangy taste of ginger, scallions, and the sweetness of bean sprouts and carrots complement each other, with vibrant colors adding visual appeal. Prepare the following ingredients: plump bean sprouts, fresh scallions cut into sections, shredded carrots, salt, sugar, vinegar, chili, and garlic. Mix the bean sprouts, carrots, and scallions together, then place them in a clean jar and pour the prepared liquid over until the bean sprouts are submerged. After one day, they are ready to be enjoyed.

Sour preserved bamboo shoots are highly favored by many, especially those who enjoy spicy food. Paired with instant noodles alone, sour bamboo shoots can alleviate the greasiness of the noodles or stir-fried with various meats like pork liver, chicken, and fat to reduce their richness. The sour and spicy flavor of bamboo shoots, crunchy and stimulating to the palate, will surely leave you in awe, adding an interesting twist to your meal. Although bamboo shoots have a slightly bitter-sweet taste, once fermented, this characteristic flavor disappears, but its beneficial effects remain. This dish is known for its ability to resolve dampness, clear heat, aid digestion, detoxify, promote urination, and bowel movements. It is often used as both food and medicine for those suffering from heat-related illnesses, respiratory tract infections with yellow phlegm, edema due to kidney inflammation, heart failure, malnutrition, measles, and chickenpox in children, high fever with excessive thirst, slow digestion, difficult urination, and constipation. Ingredients include fresh bamboo shoots, vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic, and chili. Slice thinly to speed up the pickling process and briefly blanch in boiling water with a pinch of salt to reduce bitterness.

Water spinach pickles have a tangy flavor, and their affordability makes them a popular choice. Just a bunch of water spinach can yield several servings of pickles. Water spinach aids digestion due to its high fiber content, treating digestive disorders effectively. Its antioxidant properties help prevent common types of cancer, and when pickled with water spinach, the high vitamin C content boosts the immune system, benefits cardiovascular health, and aids in weight loss by burning excess fat. Ingredients include: 1 bunch of water spinach, chili peppers, garlic, carrots, vinegar, and sea salt. Pickling the leaves saves both money and provides additional minerals beneficial for the body. For an even better dish, remove the leaves and use only the stems for crisp, green pickles. Boil briefly for 3-5 minutes and plunge into ice water to retain crispness and color. Then pickle with carrots in a clean glass jar containing a mixture of water, salt, sugar, vinegar, garlic, and chili peppers. This dish requires only a day for fermentation before consumption.

Corn cabbage

Sweet and sour pickled onions are excellent for reducing bad cholesterol, increasing good cholesterol (HDL), promoting good blood circulation, and reducing excess fat in the body. They are a fantastic choice for weight loss. Additionally, they provide great benefits for digestion, preventing constipation, bloating, and acid reflux. A plate of sweet and sour pickled onions not only stimulates the taste buds but also brings many health benefits. Pickling onions quickly become sourer than other types of onions because they absorb seasoning easily. The most important step is preparing the pickling sauce, mixing sugar with chili paste, a little salt, and a little vinegar, then mixing well with thinly sliced onions, allowing the seasoning to penetrate. Let it sit in the fridge for about 2 hours before enjoying it with noodles or boiled meat.

Water spinach

Pickled vegetables are a popular choice for many Vietnamese during Tet. They are simple to make with ingredients such as radishes, carrots, garlic, and onions soaked together with pickled eggplant. With a refreshing sweet and sour taste, pickled vegetables are a wonderful dish to combat holiday fatigue effectively. Moreover, small jars of homemade pickled vegetables also make meaningful Tet gifts for friends and family.

Sweet and sour pickled onions

Bitter melon can be challenging to eat on its own due to its bitter taste and may cause discomfort in the throat. However, it can be a delicious dish if you know how to be creative. Bitter melon contains glucose, sucrose, quinic acid, shikimic acid, oxalic acid, citric acid, malic acid, auxin, trace elements such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium... and some vitamins such as C, B1... which aid digestion, prevent constipation, lower blood pressure, promote weight loss, and prevent cancer. Pickled bitter melon is a refreshing addition to meals to combat fatigue. Sliced pickled bitter melon pairs excellently with boiled snails. To make delicious pickled bitter melon, you need the following ingredients: bitter melon, chili peppers, salt, sugar, garlic, sesame seeds, and boiled then cooled water. Dissolve salt, sugar, and sliced sesame seeds in boiled then cooled water, then add the bitter melon, either whole or sliced as desired. Use a water-filled bag to compress tightly; this prevents the pickled bitter melon from becoming frothy.

Savory pickled melon

Not only a traditional dish of Korea, pickled kale kimchi is also very common in Vietnam. You can easily find kimchi at large stores and supermarkets. For pickled kale kimchi, if you prefer a sour taste, you can leave it at room temperature for 1 day. Alternatively, you can eat it right away if you prefer a slightly crunchy texture. Pickled kale kimchi pairs well with soup, grilled meats, or plain rice.

Pickled bitter melon

Pickled eggplant is a traditional dish commonly found on many family dinner tables. Sweet and sour pickled eggplant retains its crispiness and delicious aroma. The white eggplant slice has a slightly sour, mildly salty taste with fragrant hints of ginger and garlic, perfect for pairing with boiled meat or crab soup.

Pickled kale kimchi

Indulge in the tangy goodness of pickled sweet-and-sour greens.

Experience the refreshing crunch of pickled greens with a hint of garlic.

Savor the delightful balance of sweet and sour in pickled purple onions.

Experience the addictive crunch and flavor of pickled purple onions.

Indulge in the savory-sweet goodness of pickled chayote.

Savor the delightful blend of pickled chayote with carrots and spices.

Delight in the piquant flavors of pickled star fruit in fish sauce.

Savor the zesty, sweet, and spicy goodness of pickled star fruit with garlic and chili.

Indulge in the crisp and sour goodness of pickled cabbage soup.

Savor the tangy crunch of pickled cauliflower, perfect for chilly days.

Indulge in the crisp and flavorful goodness of pickled gourds.

Savor the delightful tanginess of pickled squash, perfect for various dishes.

Indulge in the sweet and tangy goodness of pickled turnip and carrot flowers.

Savor the unique blend of pickled turnip and carrot flowers with vinegar and spices.