Korean Soy Pickled Asparagus

Name: Korean Soy Pickled Asparagus
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 12 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: asparagus 400 g; soy sauce 140 ml; water 140 ml; brown rice vinegar 100 ml; sugar 70 g; lemon 0.5 ea; black peppercorns 1 tsp; garlic cloves 5 ea

Quick answer

Active time: 32 min
Waiting: See the steps
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Twenty seconds in boiling water, then straight into ice water: that short blanch fixes the bright green and keeps a clean snap in every spear.

Bending each stalk until it breaks on its own finds the point where the woody base ends, so nothing stringy ends up in the jar. Pickled in soy, brown rice vinegar and sugar, asparagus keeps a grassy, almost herbal note that radish or cabbage pickles never have. Thin lemon slices tucked between the spears add a citrus edge, though too much white pith turns the brine bitter. The aroma and acidity peak somewhere between days 2 and 5, and the sharpness works well beside rich grilled meat.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

lemon½ ea

garlic cloves5 ea

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Snap off woody ends by bending each spear until it breaks naturally, then cut into 6 cm lengths.
2

Blanch for exactly 20 seconds, then immediately shock in ice water to lock in the green color and crispness.
3

Stand the asparagus upright in a sterilized jar and tuck 5 sliced garlic cloves and 2-3 thin lemon slices between them.
4

Bring 140 ml dark soy sauce, 140 ml water, 100 ml brown rice vinegar, 70 g sugar, and peppercorns to a full boil.
5

Cool the brine for 3 minutes, pour over the asparagus, then seal once fully cooled and refrigerate.
6

Ready to eat after 24 hours refrigerated; the herbal aroma and acidity peak between days 2 and 5.