Pickled Bean Sprouts and Carrot

A pickled vegetable dish to be enjoyed by all. Pickled vegetables are ideal with all sorts of foods but some are just designed for particular cuisines. This one;  pickled bean sprouts and carrot is the perfect side for all those Asian  dishes including spring rolls, caramel chicken wings, even Western beef stews and other classic dishes like fish in caramel sauce.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes. Leave an extra 1 hour for marinating.

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 200g/7 oz./4 cups bean sprouts that need to be rinsed well with the tails and seed coats removed where possible
• 1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks to produce 1 cup
• 2 spring onions, cut into shreds

Dressing:

• 200ml/3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 200ml/1 cup water

Preparation:

1. Put all the prepared vegetables into a large bowl.
2. heat a saucepan and add all the ingredients for the dressing. heat to a quick boil and then reduce the heat immediately to a simmer. Simmer for 1 or 2 minutes and stir occasionally. The sugar needs to dissolve fully. Remove from the heat and allow the dressing to cool.
3. Pour the dressing over the raw vegetables.
4. Mix vegetables and dressing well together. leave to marinate for an hour at least in the fridge. Drain the vegetables although the marinate is tasty in its own right.