Quick Pickled Sweet ‘n Spicy Radishes

Sometimes, you just don’t have time to wait around for your pickles to pickle before you can eat them. For those times, there are quick pickles. Well, quick enough, anyway… These are my favorite quick pickles to make — deliciously tangy in just a few hours and scrumptiously served with the barbecue platter of your…

Linda Ly

Written by Linda Ly

Quick pickled sweet and spicy radishes
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Sometimes, you just don’t have time to wait around for your pickles to pickle before you can eat them. For those times, there are quick pickles. Well, quick enough, anyway…

These are my favorite quick pickles to make — deliciously tangy in just a few hours and scrumptiously served with the barbecue platter of your choice. I especially like them with Korean short ribs, where the sweet ‘n spiciness pairs well with a red pepper marinade. They also make a good, crunchy side snack for friends who don’t like kimchi.

You can start them in the afternoon while you prep the rest of your dinner, and by evening they’ll be ready right before the ribs (or the Asian flank steak, or even the Argentinian milanesa) come out.

Quick Pickled Sweet ‘n Spicy Radishes

Makes 1 quart and 1 pint

Ingredients

1 to 2 bunches of large radishes, leaves removed
1 cup black rice vinegar (or seasoned rice vinegar)
1 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pickling salt

Making Your Quick Pickled Sweet ‘n Spicy Radishes

Any type of radish will work for this recipe, but I find that larger radishes are easier to handle and slice. I used Long Black Spanish radish and Purple Plum radish because I love the contrasting colors of the skins (which I keep unpeeled), but you can use traditional red radishes or even daikon. The type of radish you choose will determine how spicy your sweet ‘n spicy pickles turn out.

Long Black Spanish radishes and Purple Plum radishes

Thoroughly wash and scrub your radishes. Remove the leaves and save them for a salad or a soup. (Quick tip: Make my pea shoot salad with radish and carrot to accompany your meal, and use the pickled radishes in lieu of regular radishes. Heck, go wild and pickle the carrot strips too!)

Using a mandoline, slice the radishes into paper thin slices. (If using smaller radishes, you can simply halve or quarter them.)

Thinly slice radishes using a mandoline
Paper thin radish slices
Sliced radishes

In a medium bowl, whisk together the black rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Pack the radishes tightly into jars, and pour the vinegar mixture over all the slices so they’re completely submerged.

Pack radishes into jars
Pour vinegar mixture over radishes

Let the radishes pickle at room temperature for at least three hours. Thin slices will be pickled the same day, while halves or quarters should be pickled a day ahead for the best flavor.

Quick pickled sweet 'n spicy radishes
Yield: 1 quart and 1 pint

Quick Pickled Sweet 'n Spicy Radishes

Quick pickled sweet 'n spicy radishes

Deliciously tangy in just a few hours and scrumptiously served with the barbecue platter of your choice. 

Prep Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 bunches of large radishes, leaves removed
  • 1 cup black rice vinegar (or seasoned rice vinegar)
  • 1 cup white wine vinegar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pickling salt

Instructions

    Thoroughly wash and scrub your radishes. Remove the leaves and save them for a salad or a soup. 

    Using a mandoline, slice the radishes into paper thin slices. (If using smaller radishes, you can simply halve or quarter them.)

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the black rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, water, sugar and salt until the sugar is fully dissolved.

    Pack the radishes tightly into jars, and pour the vinegar mixture over all the slices so they’re completely submerged.

    Let the radishes pickle at room temperature for at least three hours.

    Thin slices will be pickled the same day, while halves or quarters should be pickled a day ahead for the best flavor.

Notes

Any type of radish will work for this recipe, but I find that larger radishes are easier to handle and slice.

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© Linda Ly
Category: Canning, Freezing & More Preserving
Linda Ly

I'm a plant lover, passionate road-tripper, and cookbook author whose expert advice and bestselling books have been featured in Time, Outside, HGTV, and Food & Wine. The National Parks Cookbook is my latest book. Garden Betty is where I write about modern homesteading, farm-to-table cooking, and outdoor adventuring—all that encompass a life well-lived outdoors. After all, the secret to a good life is... Read more »

33 Comments

  1. Linda, I am doing the pickles just as you say.And i’v to say your pickle’s recipe is good! I am researcher ,study in radish’s root and pods even radish seeds oil.
    anyway ,you give me a new idea to extend my research work! thank you and your pickle pods recipe.

    Reply

  2. Hi, I’m going to pickle a whole bunch of radish seed pods. Will this recipe work without the sugar? Or maybe Stevia as a substitute?

    Reply

    1. Without the sugar, your pickles would be very sour. I assume you can use stevia, but since I don’t use it myself, I don’t know how much of it would be equivalent to the sugar in this recipe.

      Reply

      1. Thanks. I’ve read that sometimes the sugar, not sweetener, is necessary for whatever reaction to occur. Will let you know.

        Reply

        1. In this recipe, the sugar is mostly for flavor; there’s no reaction that needs to take place for the pickling to occur. It does help a bit with preserving, but there’s enough vinegar to keep it stable for a while (in the fridge).

          Reply

  3. Hi, going to pickle a whole BUNCH of radish seed pods. Will this recipe work without the sugar?

    Reply

  4. Great recipe thanks! Am using for radish rat-tails as well – how long do you reckon they can store for? A

    Reply

  6. I also enjoyed the article on chicken yolks. Although they get organic non soy feed, I free range and I raise meal worms to supplement their foraging, I think I’ll look into the kelp granules. As you already know, bos is like crack cocaine to chickens. I always tell people that as sweet, stupid, smart, demanding and friendly as they are, they WILL, take you DOWN when they see you coming with the goods. Hahaha !

    Reply

    1. LOL! I love to dangle a bag of dried mealworms above my chickens’ heads and watch them jump up to try to grab a piece! I’ve never seen a chicken jump so high before!

      Reply

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