Preserving: How about Chinese Mixed Pickles? So easy to make that even I make them. by Recipe Cottage

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	How about Chinese Mixed Pickles? So easy to make that even I make them.

		Start off with this mix of vegetables and then add/delete to suit your own tastes - just do your own thing when it comes which vegetables to use. Vegetables: 2 carrots 1 large Chinese radish (known as Daikon in Japan) 1 large cucumber 1 red bell pepper 1 green bell pepper 4 sticks of celery 10 cm (4") piece of green ginger 8 spring onions (shallots) Pickling mixture: 2 1/4 cups of sugar (white) 2 1/4 cups white vinegar 1 teaspoon of salt 1 1/4 cup of water [NOTE: the measuring cup sizes I give are Australian sizes - the American cups are smaller. But the actual size does not matter because we are talking here of ratios - so if you end up with less pickling liquid than required just adjust by using, say, 2 1/2 cups etc.] Method: * Put the pickling ingredients into a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and let cool. (Use an enamelled saucepan if using a metal one.) * Thoroughly wash all the vegetables. Discard any bad bits. Peel and cut up carrots, radish into 1 1/2" lenghts then cut into thin strips of around 1/4" (but not less I would suggest). * Cut the cucumber lenghtwise, remove the seeds, and then cut up as for carrots and radish. * Cut the red and green peppers into 1" squares. * Slice the celery and the spring onions (shallots) diagonally into 1 1/2" lenghts. * Peel the ginger and cut into thin slices (thinner than the carrots and radish). * Bring a large saucepan of water to a brisk boil and add the prepared vegetebles. Immediately remove from heat. Let the vegetables stand for 2 minutes and then drain. * Spread the vegetables on absorbent paper (you can use your bathroom towels is you want - be creative!) over wire rack and let them dry for several hours until dry. (You can find other methods of drying them quicker - don't dehydrate them, just dry them.) * When dry, pack the vegetables firmly (but don't overdo it) into clean Glass or earthware jars (for the above you will need 2 jars the size of normal sized pickling jars) and pour the pickling liquid over them to completely cover the vegetables. (The jars do not need to be sterilized - just clean.) When packing the vegetables try and get an equal amount of each vegetable into each jar - this way you won't end up with too much of any vegetable in any one jar. * Seal the jars and store in the refrigerator for at least a week before using. (When I've made the above, the vegetables last for weeks stored this way, and taste best after 2 weeks - but that's my preference.) That's all there is to it. Be ready to do some more pickling after you open the first jar and taste the pickled vegetables. If you don't eat 1/2 a jar within a few minutes of opening it then you haven't followed the procedure above :-).