Korean Bamboo Shoot Pickle
Boil 220 ml each of water and soy sauce with 100 ml vinegar, 100 g sugar, 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp black peppercorns over high heat, and take out the bay leaf as soon as the brine boils so it does not become overpowering. Pour the hot brine over 500 g bamboo shoots packed in a sterilized glass jar until they are completely submerged. Cool fully at room temperature with the lid slightly ajar, then seal and refrigerate for 3 days.
Quick answer
- Active time
- 45 min
- Waiting
- See the steps
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 7
About this dish
Bamboo shoots have a tight, dense grain that drinks in the soy, vinegar and sugar brine slowly yet stays crisp, and by the third day of chilling the seasoning reaches the center.
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A bay leaf and whole peppercorns give the plain soy pickle a quiet spice note; the bay leaf comes out as soon as the brine boils so it does not take over. Raw shoots carry a bitterness the brine cannot hide. Next to fatty pork belly or galbi, the sharp, salty pieces cut the richness between bites.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse 500 g bamboo shoots under running water, trim off the tough base ends, and cut them on the diagonal into bite-sized pieces.
- 2
Combine 220 ml water, 220 ml soy sauce, 100 ml vinegar, and 100 g sugar in a pot, add 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp black peppercorns, then bring to a boil over high heat.
- 3
Once the brine boils, turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf so the flavour does not become overpowering.
- 4
Pack the bamboo shoots into a sterilised glass jar and pour the hot brine over them until completely submerged.
- 5
Leave the lid slightly ajar and cool the jar completely at room temperature, then seal tightly and refrigerate.
- 6
After 3 days of refrigeration the brine penetrates the bamboo shoots fully, giving you crisp, savory pickles ready to enjoy.
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