Garlic Pickled Green Beans

I recently tried pickled green beans at a restaurant/bar downtown (Ward 3 on Reade st--check it out for awesome cocktails and interesting bar snacks--whiskey chicken liver pate anyone? YES) and fell in love with them.  I knew I had to attempt to re-create them so here is my first try. I think they came out OK for a first try--the taste was there, but the technique was a bit off.  I modified the recipe to take that into account and I think it'll work out much better this way.  So try this out if you like pickles and need a new, spicy spin on them.  And if you attempt them and have modifications--leave comments below!

What you'll need

1/2 pound green beans
4 peeled cloves of garlic

dash of red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons of salt

6 tablespoons of sugar

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 pot of boiling water for blanching

 

First, start by cleaning the green beans and chopping off the ends.  In the meantime, boil a pot of water

 

Put the beans in the boiling water for a minute, then remove them and place in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Separately boil one cup of water (microwaving works well and fast)
Next, combine all of the ingredients except for the beans and garlic in a glass container.  

 

Shake it all up so the sugar and salt dissolve.  Then, submerge the green beans and garlic, cover, and put directly in the fridge.  They should be ready in about 4 days, and should last a while in the fridge after that.  Enjoy!

 

*side note: the first time I made these, I skipped the blanching step and the pickling juices didn't pickle quite the whole bean.  I think blanching them will make them pickle-y throughout! Try them and let me know how it goes!