By Andrea Nguyen
When summer hits, I’m on the lookout for green tomatoes. No, not the heirloom, fancy ones that are green in their ripe state. I’m talking rock hard, unripe tomatoes. They’re firm, meaty and perfect for pickling because they’ll retain a little crunch. I eat pickles too fast to do the canning jars and sterilization. Instead, I do a flash pickle and keep a bunch in the fridge to slide into banh mi sandwiches and to also serve as a side pickle. This is one of my favorite summertime pickles.
I developed this recipe originally for my cookbook, The Banh Mi Handbook. It was a variation for a snow pea pickle. I loved the lemongrass, slight garlicky and spicy chile heat notes so much that in summer when snow peas were not at their peak, I was looking to apply the same flavors.
One day on a walk around our neighborhood, I spied some unripe tomatoes in a neighbor’s yard. I walked by those tomato plants regularly and the person didn’t ever harvest any fruit. Since green tomatoes are not easy to come by on the West Coast (they’re not sold in the supermarket as I’ve seen in some other parts of the country!), I stole some from that neighbor’s house to experiment with.
The resulting green tomato and lemongrass pickle was delicious. My husband and mom adored them as much as I do.
To get a steady supply of the green tomatoes, I asked local farmers at our weekly farmer’s market. “Just call ahead and we’ll pick some for you!” was the response. It was easy as that. That’s how this pickle got into my annual Vietnamese pickling routine and banh mi sandwich playbook. It’s been that way since roughly 2013 when I came up with recipe.
Right now, it’s still early in the tomato season in Santa Cruz. However last weekend, Hmong farmers from hot, inland Fresno had unripe tomatoes at their stall. I swooped in and bought all they had left. Hefty, big ones. That knife has an 8-inch blade, just so you have a sense of size.
I made a triple batch of this pickle, putting it into a Cambro plastic tub. The lemongrass came from our garden and the leaves are so delicious that I bundled them up to include in the brine.
For a Fourth of July potluck, I brought the pickle with hickory smoked pulled pork that my neighbor Dan (not the one I stole tomatoes from!) and I made. No one had eaten such the pickle before and to thank Dan for use of his smoker, I gave him a jar. He said the pickle reminded him of his youth but it was different than what he’d ever eaten in terms of a pickled tomato.
I thanked him for liking my South-meets-Southeast Asia pickle. We had leftover pork so naturally, here’s the green tomato and lemongrass pickle with the pulled pork in a banh mi. Thai basil and rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) are included in the sandwich. Happy summer.
If you’re unsure about using lemongrass, be sure to check the Lemongrass 101 article for tips.
Green Tomato and Lemongrass Pickle
Author Andrea Nguyen, from "The Banh Mi Handbook" (Ten Speed Press, 2014)
Yield 2 cups
Ingredients
- ⅔ pound unripened (green) tomato
- 1 medium lemongrass stalk
- 1 small clove garlic, lightly crushed
- Generous ¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or 1 fresh Thai or serrano chile, split lengthwise
- Pinch of ground turmeric (optional)
- ¼ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, Heinz preferred
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Depending on the size of the tomato, keep them whole, or halve or quarter them. Regardless, cut the tomato crosswise into pieces about ¼ inch thick. Pack the tomato into a 2- to 3-cup glass jar. Set aside.
- Trim the lemongrass of rough outer layers. Cut it two 3- to 4-inch pieces, then smack them with the back of a heavy knife or a meat tenderizer to break the fibers and release flavor.
- Put the lemongrass in a small saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, turmeric, salt, sugar, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil, take off the heat, and wait for the bubbling to subside. Pour over the tomato. Use a spoon or spatula to gently push the tomato, lemongrass, and chile down. Aim to submerge them in the brine.
- Let cool completely, partially covered, at room temperature. Cap and refrigerate overnight before eating. Keep for up to a month.
Notes
Recipe source: Andrea Nguyen'sThe Banh Mi Handbook (Ten Speed Press, 2014).
Courses banh mi
Cuisine Vietnamese
Do you make pickled green tomatoes? What do you do? How do you enjoy them?
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Pam Ladds
And those of us here in Northern VT, with no sun or summer this year, wish we had other than hard green tomatoes. We won't even have those for another month! Thank you for the new use. Chutney gets really boring. Of course getting the lemongrass is a challenge........
Andrea Nguyen
I have a friend in Burlington, VT, and she said it's been a super wet year. I'm sorry to hear that! But this is a way to use tomatoes that you may think are spent. I pick the so-so ones at the end of the season from my garden and make a batch.
As for the lemongrass, buy it! Mine hasn't died from neglect but it does struggle (my fault).
Maybe fall will be fabulous?!Michael McGinn
I make pickled green tomatoes all the time but I am trying this recipe next. Sounds really good. Might add a few more chilis
But lets get back to you stealing tomatoes haha 😛Allen Todd
I just cut them as you do and add sichuan peppercorns and garlic. Then cover them with a 5% salt solution. They then ferment on their own for a week or so. They are delicious and store well in the refrigerator for months. I will have to make some this year with lemongrass - that sounds great.
johnson john
good
Andrea Nguyen
A girl's gotta do what's necessary. I should call that foraging.
Andrea Nguyen
Terrific idea. Thanks!
June Nguyen
I stumbled upon your book while browsing on Amazon, bought all three. I m an avid gardener, tomatoes are my favourite. I lived in a predominantly Italian neighbourhood, so I grew plum tomatoes, San Marzo, love the texture. I will tried this next year when I have green tomatoes.
Andrea Nguyen
Hello June! San Marzanos would be very interesting. They'd slice up cute and smallish. Thanks for taking time to write.
Rex Hays
Have you ever canned them? I asked one of our local farmers for some green tomatoes to make them the way we prepare them in Arkansas and I ended up with a box full of green tomatoes. Too many!
Andrea Nguyen
I have never canned this pickle. I think you can but I'd slice them thicker, maybe double so they don't soften too much. A whole box of green tomatoes. Maybe fry some, too!
