As of this afternoon, my husband and I have visited eight–eight!–different grocery stores looking for–but not finding–pickled chilies for the Thai Hot and Sour Soup that we planned to make this week. The recipe, from The Culinary Institute’s The New Book of Soups, calls for 1/2 a pickled chili and we are not about to go without because the recipe tells us, “All of the ingredients are crucial to the overall flavor, so don’t leave anything out.” Stumped, irritated, and standing in the middle of the Giant, I decided I would make my own damn pickled chilies.

Quick Pickled Chilis

Quick Pickled Chilis

Makes 3 pickled chilis, but you can certainly put a LOT more chilis in the jar!

Adapted from: Momofuku Pickled Thai Chiles (Culinary Stratosphere) and Thai Pickled Chillies (Coconut Riata)

Ingredients

• 3 long red chilis
• 2 cups very hot water
• 1 cup rice vinegar
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

Directions

Cut the tops off the chilis and roll them gently, upside down between your hands to empty out the seeds. Slice the two sides of the chilis from about 1/2 inch from the top to 1/2 inch from the bottom.

Place the chilis tops-up into a small, clean mason jar with the bay leaves and peppercorns. (I poured boiling water into and out of the jars to sanitize them.)

Mix the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved. Pour the pickling liquid over the chilis into the jar until the jar is full to the brim and seal the jar with a canning top and screw top.

Place the jar in the refrigerator… and hope for the best. I’ll be using these tonight for Thai Hot and Sour Soup!