Pickled Bean Sprouts

A pickled vegetable condiment that remains crunchy for days in the fridge, if prepared as below. Good with just about everything, pickled sprouts added a salty and tart counterpoint to Cafe Drake's dinner above of Chicken Thighs in a Caramel Sauce (here's the chicken recipe from our original September 2008 post).

PICKLED BEAN SPROUTS

Heat in a saucepan: 3 cups water, 1/4 cup white or cider vinegar, 1 T. salt and 1 t. sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved - no need to bring to a full boil. Remove from heat, set aside and let cool COMPLETELY. Your pickles will be a wilted, tangled mess if you don't allow the brine to cool to room temperature. Be patient, people and reap the rewards.

While the brine is cooling, place 3 cups mung bean sprouts in a large mixing bowl and fill with water. Discard any papery hulls floating on top and also any sprouts that look old or limp. Darin in a colander.

When brine is cool, pour over the sprouts and let sit for at least 1 hour to develop flavor. Refrigerated, these will keep for a week or more.