In Asian cooking, angled loofah is typically braised or served in soups, but it's also perfectly suited to pickling. Try to buy young loofah (no longer than 12 inches).
Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr (plus 2 days for marinating)
• We don't recommend processing these pickles. Additional heating gives the loofah a mushy texture.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 6 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Scrub loofah and peel only the ridges, then cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Toss loofah with kosher salt in a bowl, then cover with ice and let stand 2 hours. Drain and remove any unmelted ice.
Step 2
Bring vinegar, water, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and turmeric to a boil in a 1-quart nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add loofah and onion, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
Step 3
Transfer pickles with liquid to a 1-quart heatproof glass or ceramic bowl and cool to room temperature. Chill, covered, at least 2 days (for flavors to develop) and up to 1 month.
