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Preparation
20 minutes
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Processing
5 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Fig is a fruit with a sour taste mixed with a bit of astringency, but when pickled sweet and sour, it transforms into a dry dish – fish sauce that is extremely delicious. It is considered one of the Hue specialties that cannot be missed every time you visit this ancient capital. Today, let’s cook with TasteVN and immediately make this pickled sweet and sour fig dish!
Ingredients for Pickled Sweet and Sour Fig Serves 6
Fig 2 kg Alum 20 gr Ginger 2 pieces Garlic 2 cloves Chili 15 pieces Vinegar 70 ml Sugar 100 gr Salt 100 gr Filtered water 800 ml
Information about ingredients
What is fig fruit? Where can it be bought?
- Fig is a type of fruit that grows abundantly in the Hue and Quang Tri regions of Vietnam. The fig tree is usually evergreen year-round and bears fruit regularly.
- Fig fruit is related to fig fruit but is larger in size, about the size of a fist, with a greenish color, covered by a smooth layer of fine fuzz on the outside.
- Currently, you can buy figs at traditional markets in Hue and Quang Tri. If you do not have the opportunity to visit these places, you can order figs from reputable online stores.
- Good figs are those that are still fresh and green, not bruised or brownish. When buying, you should choose figs of moderate small size.
- Additionally, the best figs for sweet and sour pickling are those with a pinkish flesh. Because these fruits will not be astringent and will have a sweeter and sourer taste when pickled.
What is alum? Where can it be bought?
- Alum is a type of salt formed from potassium and aluminum, usually irregular in size and widely used in daily life.
- Alum crystals are often transparent white, but sometimes they may appear slightly milky white. In cooking, it is considered an essential seasoning when making jams or pickling certain vegetables and fruits to create a crunchiness in dishes.
- Usually, you can buy alum at large grocery stores, dry goods stalls at traditional markets, or in supermarkets.
-800x450.jpg "How to Make Sweet and Sour Pickled Fig, a Delicious Specialty from Hue 2")
Tools needed
How to prepare Pickled Fig
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Prepare the figs
Prepare 2 bowls of water, with enough water to cover half of each bowl. Then add 10g of alum to each bowl of water and dissolve it.
Next, place the figs in the first bowl of alum water, ensuring they are submerged, and peel the skin. After that, soak the peeled figs in the remaining alum water until you finish peeling the last fig.
Rinse the figs in cold water or cooled boiled water. Then, take each fig out and dry them with a towel.
Note: To prevent the sap from turning the flesh of the figs brown, during peeling, keep the figs submerged in the alum water and soak them in alum water after peeling to neutralize the sap!
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Make the soaking liquid
Add 100g of salt, 70ml of vinegar, 800ml of filtered water, and 100g of sugar into a pot. Then, simmer on low heat and stir well for about 5 minutes until the ingredients dissolve completely and the soaking liquid starts to boil, then turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
Wash the ginger you bought, then use a spoon to scrape off the skin and cut it into thin slices. Peel the garlic, remove the stems from the chilies, wash them clean, and let them drain.
Then add all the prepared ingredients into the cooled soaking liquid and mix well.
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Soak the figs
Next, wash the jar thoroughly and rinse it again with clean water, then dry it completely.
After that, arrange the figs in the jar, then ladle the soaking liquid to completely cover the figs and use chopsticks to press them down so they don’t float on the surface of the water to avoid the figs becoming moldy and dark during soaking.
The soaking time for the figs to become sour will be about 3 – 4 days at room temperature and avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
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Finished Product
The sweet and sour pickled fig after completion will have a sour taste, the white fig will be crispy and not soft.
You can enjoy this sweet and sour pickled fig with boiled pork, various fried dishes, grilled dishes,… instead of pickled figs!
How to preserve pickled fig
- To keep pickled figs preserved longer while maintaining their crunchiness and taste, you can store them in the refrigerator refrigerator. This method can keep the pickled figs usable for about 1 month.
- When eating pickled figs, you should take a sufficient amount to eat. If you don’t finish eating, you shouldn’t put the figs back into the jar because it can cause the pickled figs to spoil and mold.
See more
- 3 simple and delicious ways to make crunchy pickled cucumbers that anyone can do
- 2 extremely delicious ways to make sour pickled sour plums with garlic and chili, perfect for dipping vegetables in summer
- How to make delicious and unique pickled ash gourd mixed with garlic and chili that everyone loves
Hope that with the detailed instructions above, you can successfully make the pickled fig specialty from Hue to make your family’s meals more appealing and delicious.
*Source of the recipe and images shared from Facebook: Phan Thị Phúc
