Korean Pickled Alpine Leek Leaves

Name: Korean Pickled Alpine Leek Leaves
Prep time: 18 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 28 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: alpine leek leaves 250 g; soy sauce 120 ml; vinegar 120 ml; water 120 ml; sugar 3 tbsp; hot green chili 1 ea

Quick answer

Total time: 28 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 6

About this dish

Brine poured after only three minutes off the boil lightly blanches the surface of the alpine leek leaves, keeping them bright green while the inside stays raw and garlicky.

With soy sauce and vinegar at equal volumes, neither salt nor sourness dominates once the leaves soak through. Each leaf is washed front and back and dried flat, since grit left on a single one turns the whole jar bitter. The finished leaves are mostly used to wrap grilled meat.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

hot green chili1 ea

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Wash 250g of alpine leek leaves one by one under cold running water, cleaning both sides.

Spread them out in a single layer and dry completely, because trapped water can dilute the brine and cause off flavors.
2

Pack the dry leaves neatly into a sterilized glass jar, folding them gently if needed without crushing the stems.

Slice 1 hot green chili into 0.5cm pieces and tuck the slices between the leaf layers.
3

Add 120ml each soy sauce, vinegar, and water to a pot with 3 tablespoons sugar.

Heat over high, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then let the brine come to a strong bubbling boil.
4

When the brine reaches a rolling boil, turn off the heat immediately and rest it for only 3 minutes.

Use it while still hot enough to lightly blanch the leaf surfaces and keep the green color bright.
5

Pour the warm brine slowly down the inside of the jar until the leaves are fully submerged.

Press floating leaves down with a clean spoon to release trapped air and expose every surface to the liquid.
6

Cool the jar completely at room temperature before sealing, then refrigerate.

After 2-3 days, taste for balanced soy saltiness, vinegar tang, and softened garlic aroma, then serve the leaves with grilled pork belly or bulgogi.