For as long as I can remember, my mother has kept a jar of these chillies in her fridge.
Unlike pickles designed for longer term storage, these aren’t heated in the pickling brine, but rather steeped in a cold vinegar-sugar-salt solution which diffuses the heat slightly and imbues the chopped chillies with a tangy edge. We’ve always stored them in the fridge, and they’re usually eaten quite quickly, so I really can’t tell you how long they keep for.
Because of the way they’re made, the chillies retain their crunch. It’s the perfect accompaniment to Chinese dishes – a small bowl of these always graced the dinner table when I was growing up.
Chillies grow reasonably well in our garden, and this week I harvested a bowl of Jalapeños, several Serrano chillies, a few Cayennes, and the last of our mild Tasty Bites…
When I asked Mum for her recipe, she didn’t give me quantities for the pickling brine, but told me to make it “to taste”. Here are the amounts I used for this batch…
- hot chillies (as seen in the photo above)
- 2 cups vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
- 3 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3 teaspoons sugar
1. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature.
2. Wash the chillies and slice then into rings (I wore latex gloves for this process). Remove the seeds if preferred. Tip the chopped chillies into a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Stir for about 10 seconds before draining into a colander.
3. Spoon the chillies into sterilised jars, and carefully pour over the cooled vinegar solution. Store the jars in the fridge. This quantity of chillies filled two 300ml jars.
I’m hoping to make more of these when the Bishop’s Crown chillies start fruiting!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I have to make these for my mother in law.
I hope she enjoys them, Connie! :)
Celia, what a wonderful idea. They look so pretty in the jar and having both red and green makes them look doubly fresh somehow.
Choc, my mum told me that I should have cut them thinner and only used green ones, but I’m pretty chuffed with how gorgeous they are. Delicious too! :)
Cool! or should I say, ‘Hot!’ Celia. I would think they would last quite a while in that salty sweet vinegar.
Glenda, mum always said they’d keep for “ages” in the fridge, but that was as specific as she ever got. :) I’m pretty sure they’d be fine for a month or so, at least.
I’m with your mum. I reckon they would last ‘ages’
Darling, you are not objective. We all know you can’t throw anything out of the fridge! :)
I’m slowly getting away from the ‘heat processed’ pickles, and these look wonderful – but if I make them, I’ll have to decide what to sacrifice from the fridge for the needed space! (at least half our fridge is already dedicated to condiments)
Doc, I’ve made the recipe again since with a small box of red jalapenos that I picked up for a song at the markets. We’ve been handing them around the neighbourhood! :)
They sure are pretty! I would have to remove the seeds and use slightly less hot peppers- but they sure look good. I’m not sure how the ability to handle hot foods bypassed me- but I can’t take the heat.
Heidi, because I’ve used a mix of different chillies, it’s a bit of a lucky dip – sometimes you’ll get a hot ring, and other times it’s quite mild. Fun, actually, but then again, we love hot! :)
Your chillies look so fresh and crunchy Celia, even though they are pickled. A lovely recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Lizzy, Mum and Maude both tell me that these chillies are traditionally served with noodles. I eat them with just about everything! :)
Wonderful simple chilli recipe… You reminded me that once I always had a little jar of chillies steeped in soy or fish sauce, lime juice & sugar… this version with the vinegar, salt & sugar would be a zingy tastebud alternative… I must try :)
ED, when my mum serves these, she always has them in a little bowl with soy sauce. I tend to eat them straight! :) Hope you like them!
That sounds like a great idea, i am coming back for this in the summer, we always get a good chilli harvest!.. c
Celi, don’t make too many in one go (unless you mean to share them out), as they’re not really a long term keeper! I think for proper canning, the solution needs to be hot and the jars might need to be heat processed. x
Huge shot of nostalgia, unexpected. My Dad would not eat anything without his peppers, that my Mom prepared every week. I am not sure hers included sugar, I think it was only vinegar, but reading your post I closed my eyes and remembered the smell when he opened that little bottle, and the noise of his knife mincing the peppers on the bottom of the plate. Then it would be ready to receive whatever food he would be eating. He loved peppers so much that if he ever had to go to a restaurant he would carry a small bottle of those peppers to add to the food.
sweet, even if a little sad, memories…. Thanks, Celia!
Sally, I know exactly the aroma you’re talking about – I can smell it right now just thinking about it. I feel like I’ve shared a bit of your dad with you – thank you.. xx
Celia this is just what I need my chili plant is quite laden with fruit – I can’t use them fast enough!
Claire, they seem to grow well in pots, don’t they? Ours are mainly growing in an old laundry tub! I find if I pickle the chillies like this, I can eat a whole lot more of them.. :)
So delicious Celia, I love that fiery piquant taste! I used to just steep chilis in vinegar, so thankyou for sharing your ‘proper’ recipe with me :) My chilis are just starting to redden up and I have teensy tiny hot scuds as well as large mild Thai style as well, so this will be perfect xox
Becca, the one thing my mum said was, “don’t use those hot chilli padis!” :) Although maybe if you mix them up with the Thai ones, it might work. Too hot for me though!! xx
Tony’s very into pickling at the moment and he loves chillies so I’ll show him this one. :)
Rose, I tried a recipe for pickling whole chillies a couple of years ago and it was a disaster! So I was pretty happy to make these ones of mum’s, even if they weren’t going to keep nearly as long…
I have chillies ready to pick now but alas no red ones to provide the glamour look in yours, will make some almost immediately, thanks Celia
Thank you, Celia! I have been looking at my pile from about 6-7 pots and wondering what to do with the surplus. Am just wondering whether I dare put the scotch bonnets [or were they called nun’s bonnets?] in the mix, as they are meant to blow your head off your shoulders :) ! So easy to do also . . .
Eha, scotch bonnets are way out of my league!! I grew habaneros once – never again!
Sugar: and you should see nearly a dozen BIG ones getting gorgeously red winking at me through rather nice foliage! Shall try tomorrow: yikes, now two people have warned me!!!!!!!
Those look very pretty and so fresh. They even look crunchy, if that’s possible!
Manuela, they ARE crunchy! Because mum’s recipe uses a cold vinegar solution rather than a hot one, the chillies keep their crunch. Of course, the downside is they don’t keep nearly as long! :)
This may be too hot for me, Celia, but I’ve a few friends who would really love it. Sounds to me like a good gift item. Thanks!
John, remember they don’t keep for ages and need to be in the fridge! Having said that, the neighbours I dropped jars too the other day were all delighted! :)
These would make a wonderful Xmas gift Celia – they’re the exact right colours!
Amanda, they’re pretty, aren’t they? Now if I could just time my chillies to be ready in time for Chrissie.. :) xx
This is a great recipe Celia :)
Thanks Tandy!
I’ve only attempting pickling veggies once – it didn’t go very well. Time to try again I think….the chillies look lovely.
Mel, I haven’t had a lot of success with pickling either! Making preserves, yes, but actual vinegar pickles, no. But mum’s recipe is a nice inbetween – not a true long term pickle, but delicious nonetheless!
What a fantastic idea for all the chillies in our garden, although ours aren’t nearly as pretty as yours.
Have a lovely week Celia.
:-) Mandy x
Thanks Mandy! It was nice having an assortment in the garden this year – usually we just have one variety at a time! :)
I love seeing the different types of chillies that people grow. Our chillies have produced well this season after a dismal effort last year. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Our Bishop’s Crown chillies are fantastic this year, I am surprised that yours haven’t fruited. Thanks for putting me on to them last year.
Christine, we didn’t plant any new bishops’ crowns this year, as our old plant is still going. It’s made tons of small flowers, but no fruit yet, and it takes ages to ripen, so I think we might be more than a month off. Hope it makes it before it gets too cold!
Made the chilli pickle today, why haven’t I done so before, because I did not have friend Celia’s recipe.
Roz, thank you so much for trying it! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Try it with Chinese food! :)
Such fabulous colours Celia. Peter is the fire eater in our house and I’m quite sure he’ll give this one a twirl. Like Heidi, I just don’t have fire proof hands and if I do handle chillies I do as you did and ‘suit up’.
Jan, I always feel like a wuss, but it’s either suit up, or have burning eyes all night after I’ve rubbed my eye with a chilli hand.. :)
I’ll definitely make some of these this summer with chillies from our garden.
Thanks Karen! Hope you enjoy them!
I love cooking with chilies. These look delish. I bet a couple of these would be good chopped up in a sauce. Maz.
Maz, my mum serves them in a small bowl with soy sauce, and they’re on the table at every Chinese meal she cooks.. :)
I happen to love pickled chilies. We had them over pasta tonight for dinner. It’s great to have a jar of those on hand as they can transform any meal :)
PS- IMK is up!
Emilie, I’ve been putting them into my sandwiches! They really are very versatile! :)
Now this is something that we never had! Although I had to giggle, the way your mum described the pickling mix was exactly how my mother described the pickling mix for cucumber pickle :P
You didn’t have this? I’m surprised, I always assumed all Chinese families did. It’s hard getting a recipe out of mothers, isn’t it? :)
These look so pretty in the jars. Just gorgeous. I can just imagine these going so well with Chinese food and how wonderful that the chillies retain their crunch xx
Charlie, they are very crunchy! It would probably look better if I was fastidious about removing the seeds, but I was being lazy! xx
I can’t wait to give these a try! What a great recipe to mix up a batch of pickled peppers, no sterilizing, boiling.. these look yummy. What other dishes would you serve them with?? xx
Barb, thank you! They DO have to go into a sterilized jar, but they don’t need to be heat processed afterwards. Remember they’re only for short term consumption and need to be kept in the fridge – these aren’t a “stash in the pantry for six months” pickle! We serve them with noodles, and chicken rice, and I actually have them with my scrambled eggs.. :)
Ooops.. good thing you caught that! xx
We are in the dead of winter, grounds are solidly frozen. Had a bit of snow today, expecting more especially on Friday I am so enjoying your posts with all the gorgeous harvests.
Norma, I will try to take photos for you, although the boiling hot weather followed by torrential downpour has taken its toll on the garden a bit.. :)
I have chilli abundance at the moment and I was wondering whether to up the consumption or try preserving them a little. I do like the fiery little critters!
Dear Celia,
I am a chilli fiend and why do I not pickle more chillies when it’s so easy to do. Gotta remember to do this when I get back to Oz.
I need to make these for my dad. He’s a chilli fanatic!