About this component
A light, sweet-sour quick pickle of cucumber, shallot and chile in a cooled vinegar syrup, served as a cool, sharp foil to rich and fried foods — most familiarly beside satay, and often with fried fish cakes and some curries. Ajad belongs to a broader Southeast Asian pickle family (related to Malay/Indonesian acar); there is no single universal recipe, and proportions and additions vary by household, vendor, region and the dish it accompanies.
Component facts
- Yield
- About 1.5 cups (360 ml)
- Prep
- 15 minutes plus cooling/resting
- Heat
- Mild
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) white or rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) salt
- 1 cup (130 g) cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 red chile, thinly sliced (to taste)
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
Method
- Combine the vinegar, sugar, water and salt in a small saucepan.
- Warm gently, stirring, just until the sugar and salt dissolve into a light syrup; do not reduce.
- Cool the syrup completely — pouring it hot would wilt the cucumber.
- Place the cucumber, shallot and chile in a bowl and pour the cooled syrup over.
- Rest 10–15 minutes; stir in cilantro if using. Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled.
Notes from the book
- Balancing
- Sweet and sour lead, with light salt and gentle chile heat; it should taste bright and clean to cut through fat. Adjust sugar and vinegar to the dish it accompanies.
- Substitutions
- Rice vinegar for a softer sourness; add julienned carrot or daikon; scale the chile up or down for heat.
- Storage and food safety
- Best within a few hours for maximum crunch. Refrigerate up to 2–3 days in the syrup; the cucumber softens over time.
Pairs with in this book
- No. 009Chicken Satay with Peanut SauceThailandclassic accompaniment
- No. 004Massaman CurryThailandas a cool side
- No. 012Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)Thailandoptional
The Complete Edition
Ajad (Thai Cucumber Relish) sits in the foundations
The book carries this component alongside the other twenty-three, the twenty-seven pantry studies, and the Thailand chapter it belongs to.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.