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Epicurious
Bon Appétit

Sesame-Lemon Pickled Cucumbers

By Andy Baraghani

5.0

(2)

SesameLemon Pickled Cucumbers Recipe
Photo by Julian Cousins, food styling by Adriana Paschen, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime

With a simple cold brine of water, vinegar, sugar, and salt, this pickle recipe is open to so many additional layers of flavor. Here, that’s thin slices of fresh lemon, some green chile, and sesame seeds (black or white). The cold brine keeps the cuke slices extra-crunchy. It’s also our go-to method for pickling thinly sliced fennel, cauliflower florets, quartered radishes, or thinly sliced celery.

What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients

1 lb. kirby, Persian, or English hothouse cucumbers, sliced ½" thick
½ lemon, thinly sliced into rounds, seeds removed
1 small green chile (such as serrano), thinly sliced
1 2" piece ginger, peeled, julienned
1½ cups unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup sugar
4 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2 tsp. Morton kosher salt
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Special equipment

A 1-qt. glass jar with a lid

Preparation

  1. Place cucumbers in jar. Bring lemon slices, chile, ginger, vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame seeds, and 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, until sugar and salt are dissolved, about 1 minute. Let cool. Pour brine over cucumbers in jar; cover and chill. Pickles will taste good after a few hours, but for the best flavor wait at least 24 hours before using.

    Do ahead: Cucumbers can be pickled 2 months ahead. Keep chilled.

TagsPickleCondimentLemonCitrusFruitCucumberVegetableChileGingerHerbs & SpicesEasySideDairy FreeGluten FreeVeganVegetarianHealthyishSimmerBon Appétit
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