Mango Pickles

The good thing about having a mango tree in the office compound is that when the fruits are almost ripe, they will be hanging gloriously on the tree and gently 'whispered' :"Come get us while we are still green, sappy and oozing tangy aroma. You can make us into rojak, sambal belachan, chutney, pickle or just eat as we are." So like Pavlov's theory, all of us in the office are conditioned to salivate upon the visual of such enticing sight.

Thanks to the male colleagues who are so very kind to climb up the trees and pluck those emerald green apple mangoes while they are at their prime, we managed to bring home bags of raw mangoes.

In the past, I have made the mangoes into rojak petis (a Malaysia-style fruit salad with pineapple, cucumber, sengkuang, papaya and mango, drizzle with belachan-infused black sauce) but this time around, I want to be able to enjoy the mango for a longer period of time, so I decided to preserve them into mango pickles.

I am going to share two types of mango pickles--the typical salt-and-sugar traditional pickle and another is a humble creation of my own inspired by the making of kimchi with a twist, of course. The young baby mangoes (while the seed is still tender, can be cut through and removed easily) are used for the former; while the "older" and slightly more fibrous raw mangoes (the seed can no longer be cut through) are used for the latter.

Baby mango (right) is suitable for making salt-and-sugar mango pickle; while the "older" mango (left) is suitable for "kimchi"-style pickle.

There's no specific quantity for the ingredients in these recipes because the recipes are rather forgiving and the quantity depends on personal taste/preference. If you are unable to get apple mangoes, use the rawest mango you can possibly source from your local store for these recipe.

Salt-and-Sugar Mango Pickle (Jeruk Manga Muda)

raw baby mangoes (make sure it's young enough that the seed can be cut through)
water
salt
sugar

1. In a big pot, boil the water and add enough salt to make the water taste as salty as sea water. Let cool.

2. Wash and peel the mango skin, cut the mango into quarters, remove the seed and a thin white membrane between the flesh and seed. Let dry.

3. When the brine (salt water) comes to room temperature, soak the mango pieces into brine, cover it with plastic sling and leave it for 20 - 24 hours. Note: for stronger-flavoured pickle, I let them soak for 48 hours

4. Drain the brined mango pieces, put them in a container (preferably a mason jar or glass container). In a pot, boil water and add a lot (I mean really a lot a lot a lot... of sugar) to make the water sweeter than syrup. Let the syrup cool before pouring it into the container until all mango pieces are soaked completely with syrup, cover the jar and store it in a fridge for at least 24 hours before you can enjoy homemade mango pickle.

Note: the longer the mango is soaked in the syrup, the sweeter the pickle becomes.

"Kimchi-style" Mango Pickle

raw mangoes (the seed CANNOT be cut through)
preserved mandarin peel
Korean red pepper flakes (the type used in making kimchi)

1. Wash and peel the mango skin, cut the mango into slices (like those in rojak petis).

2. Chop preserved mandarin peel finely, sprinkle it just enough to coat the mango slices. Add in the red pepper flakes, mix well. Note: the mango slices should have a beautiful yellow-red colour mix.

3. Keep the mango slices in a container (preferably a mason jar or glass container) store it in a fridge for at least 24 hours before you can enjoy homemade mango pickle.

Keep the mango pickles in glass (or mason) jar for better preservation of colour and flavour. Enjoy!