Name: Cucumber Apple Pickle
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 day (includes pickling time)
Yield: Makes about 1 quart
Ingredients: 1/2 pound Japanese or Kirby cucumbers; 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt; 1/2 Fuji or Granny Smith apple; 2 cups water; 1/3 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned) or cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon very thin matchsticks of peeled ginger; 1/4 cup sugar; Pinch of Korean hot red-pepper threads (optional)

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Cucumber Apple PickleRoland Bello

Korean tables—both in restaurants and at home—are always set with a series of banchan, or little dishes that can be eaten alone, with rice, or as an accompaniment to the main course. To keep things lively, banchan should run the gamut of tastes and textures, and this particular pickle really sparkles: It is sweet, tart, crisp, and fresh. Salting the sliced cucumbers and then squeezing out their excess water allows them to fully soak up the pickling mixture.

Cooks' note:

Pickles keep, chilled, 3 days.

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