JiJY’s Special Marinade and Thai Pickled Cucumbers

It’s grill season and I think it’s time to post a fantastic marinade recipe from my former roommate JiJY. She brings this sweet, sticky, Asian style marinade from her homeland, Thailand. It can be used on any meat, but is particularly good on fatty pork. I recommend cooking it on the grill, but in a pinch you can use a George Foreman grill or even cook it as a stir-fry. I try to marinate overnight with this recipe, but it’s still good if you can only get a few hours in.

At some point I’ll scan this in, but for the time being you should click on the photo for big:

The marinade should be pretty sticky and heavy on the sugar and black pepper. I like to use pork or beef on skewers and serve it with sticky rice and:

Equal parts:

• rice vinegar
• water
• sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt
dash fish sauce (optional)
Asian cucumbers, sliced thinly
red chile peppers, minced
shallots, chopped
dry roasted peanuts, chopped
cilantro for garnish

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a measuring cup or saucepan and heat so that the sugar dissolves (I use the microwave). Let the liquid cool to room temperature and stir in a dash of fish sauce, if desired.

Toss the cucumbers, chile peppers, and shallots together in a medium bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over it no more than one hour before serving. Place in small dishes and garnish with peanuts and cilantro.