Soaked (Marinated) Vegetables

Sometimes one wants something a little crunchy, as well as tasty, and this fills the bill for me. I don't know where the recipe came from, so I can't give credit. I think a friend or relative took a Chinese cooking course and passed this on.

You can use turnips, radishes, cucumbers (boil whole for one minute), Chinese string beans, carrots (keep a long time), cabbage (short time), green pepper (short time), celery cabbage stems, etc. I like turnips or peeled broccoli stems.

2 cups water
2 tablespoons sherry
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar (I use erythritol)
4 teaspoons salt
2 to 3 dried red chiles
3 cloves garlic
(szechuan peppercorns)

Wash vegetables. Cut into pieces if large.

Fill quart jar half full with soaking solution. Drop vegetables in. Keep in fridge at least 1 day. Then it keeps for about a week.

As you eat some of the vegetables, you can add more with a small portion of soaking solution.

I find this satisfies any cravings for something to chew on between meals. It's salty, slightly sweet, and slightly hot. You can experiment with vegetables until you find some you like.