Thai sweet and sour cucumber pieces

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 2 m.-large cucumber(s)
• 40 g carrot(s), fresh
• 1 Pepper, red, long, mild
• 3 small chili peppers, red, fresh or frozen
• 20 g ginger, fresh or frozen
• 4 m.-large kaffir lime leaves, fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp dill, fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds, yellow
• 10 juniper berries, dried
• 200 g water
• 8 g chicken broth, granulated
• 200 g rice wine, mild, clear
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, mild, black
• 120 g sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest period approx. 7 days; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 7 days 35 minutes

Wash the cucumbers, snip off both ends, and peel them in a zebra pattern, leaving only thin, green strips. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut the halves lengthwise into little finger-width strips, then chop these crosswise into approximately 3 cm long pieces. Season the pieces well with salt and let the salt soak for about 30 minutes. Then strain the pieces, rinse briefly, and drain well. In the meantime, wash the small carrot, snip off both ends, and peel it. Slice it crosswise into thin strips using a julienne peeler. Remove the stems from the peppers, wash them, halve them lengthwise, remove the seeds from the halves, and cut them crosswise into thin strips. Wash the small red chilies, cut them crosswise into thin rings, leaving the seeds and discarding the stems. Be sure to wash your hands or gloves with soap at this point. Wash the fresh ginger, peel it, and cut it crosswise into approximately 4 cm long pieces. Cut the pieces lengthwise into thin slices and chop these into strips. Cut the strips crosswise into small cubes. Freeze any unused cubes. Weigh the frozen leaves and thaw them. Wash the kaffir lime leaves, use 2 of them whole, roll the other two across the center line, and cut the rolls crosswise into thin strands. Discard the stem and midrib. Wash the fresh dill, shake dry, and strip the tags from the stem from top to bottom, using them whole. In a small pan, toast the coriander seeds without oil until fragrant. Immediately remove from the heat and from the pan. Weigh the mustard seeds and set aside. Lightly crush the juniper berries. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the chicken stock in it. Add the rice wine, vinegar, and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Mix the cucumber pieces with the ingredients up to the juniper berries and transfer to a suitably sized, sealable jar (see photo). Slowly pour the hot vinegar broth over the mixture. Close the jar and let it cool. Then shake well and let it mature in the refrigerator for 1 week. Note: The spiciness can be easily adjusted by the number and type of chilies. The spice scale goes from 1 to 5 green chilies and 1 to 10 red chilies. Don’t overdo it and start with green chilies. I personally prefer 3 green chilies. This provides a good balance with many meat and vegetable dishes. If you have a really flavorful herb broth available, the cucumber pieces can also be made vegan.