Soy Sauce Vegetable Pickles

I mentioned recently that I've been playing around at home with Banh Mi style sandwiches. I gave you the recipe for the spicy chicken that I like to use in these, and now I'm going to share with you an easy way to make the homemade pickled carrots and pickled mushrooms that give this sandwich that tangy crunch. 

These pickles would also make a great addition to burgers or bbq pulled pork sandwiches; you can even add them to noodle soups!

The recipe is super quick and you can actually use the same batch of brine to make both the carrots and the mushrooms. This would also work with other vegetables like turnips, radishes, and parsnips, so feel free to improvise.

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Soy Sauce Vegetable Pickles
Adapted from Momofuku by David Chang

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup red wine or white vinegar
2 cups water
3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled
2 cups assorted mushrooms, sliced into even sized pieces (such as shitake, oyster, trumpet, baby bella, etc.; can also use 2 cups julienned carrots, radishes, turnips, or parsnips.)

Combine the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, and peeled ginger in a large, heavy pot. Add the sliced mushrooms and turn the heat to medium. Let simmer for 30 minutes, then let cool to room temperature in the pot.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mushrooms to a clean glass jar and top off with just enough of the pickling liquid to cover them. Cover and refrigerate. Will keep for at least 1 month. Brine can be immediately reused to pickle another batch of vegetables such as carrots, turnips, etc.