Note: I didn't have anise because I'm not a big fan of it. I think I swapped in some whole cloves. I also used frozen lemongrass and ginger that I froze myself.
Ingredients:
1½ cups Red Wine Vinegar
1½ cups Water ½ cup packed Light Brown Sugar 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 (6-inch) stalk fresh Lemongrass, halved crosswise, then quartered lengthwise, and bruised with dull side of knife
1 (5-inch) knob fresh Ginger, peeled and thinly sliced 1 Star Anisepod [or some Cloves]
1 teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns
1 pound Rhubarb, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, salt, lemongrass, ginger, star ansie, and black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, stirring, until solids are dissolved. Reduce to a low simmer and cook until infused with lemongrass and ginger, about 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
In a medium heatproof bowl, strain brine onto rhubarb. Press paper towels against surface to submerge rhubarb and let stand until cooled. Transfer rhubarb and brine to a large sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.
Notes About this Recipe:
This recipe can be easily tweaked to suit your tastes: Add more or less sugar, salt, or water to the brine if you prefer a stronger or more mild pickle.
Final Notes:
When mixed with a Topo Chico, the brine kind of tastes like the kombucha I used to make.
I thought I remembered reading that this was supposed to go well with vanilla ice cream. But I must have gotten that mixed up with a different rhubarb recipe from a "here's 10 rhubarb recipes to try" article. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really go together.
I'm not really sure what to do with this other than eat it on its own, but they pair pretty well with cornbread/cornmeal cookies.
Might be good in a strawberry and pickled rhubarb pie.
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