I love watching cooking shows – a few of my favorites include Master Chef, Top Chef, Chopped, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Great British Baking Show. A common complaint I see the judges making on the different cooking shows is the contestant’s food tastes bland or flat as it lacks a bit of acid. Most top chefs and culinary gurus finish their savory dishes with an acidic component such as lemon juice, lime juice, or a tiny bit of vinegar.
The splash of acid makes the rest of the ingredients sing to create a truly delish dish with balanced flavors of salty, spicy, sweet, and sour. The next time you’re finishing a savory dish, add a squeeze of lemon juice on top of grilled fish, or a splash of balsamic vinegar to your spinach salad. A little goes a long way and you only need a teaspoon or two of whatever acid you’re using so as not to overwhelm the dish.
Top Acidic Food Ingredients
Another great way to add a bit of acid to any dish is to top it with your favorite condiments such as catchup, salsa, or chutney as they all contain a bit of vinegar, lemon, or lime juice.
Here are the top acidic food ingredients that you can add to savory dishes to brighten them up and add a punch of flavor.
- Rice wine vinegar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Cider vinegar
- Tarragon vinegar
- Lime juice
- Lemon juice
- Tomatoes
- Red wine
- Sherry
- Catchup
- Mustard
- Sour cream
- Yogurt
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
- Pickles
- Preserved lemons
- Preserved limes
The last two ingredients on my list are preserved lemons and preserved limes, an ingredient I discovered when I went on a Thai-style cooking spree a few years ago. As I’m always looking for new ways to use my favorite ingredients, I came up with this recipe for pickled lime with tomato relish recipe.
This acid-infused condiment tastes great served on top of grilled meat, seafood, or vegetables. The chutney-like recipe makes approximately four cups of pickled lime with tomato relish and leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Locating Pickled Limes
Pickled limes are a staple pantry item used in Thai-style cooking. Pickled lemons are sometimes incorrectly labeled and actually contain pickled limes. I bought my jar of pickled lemons from Import Foods – they even mention that the bottles are labeled incorrectly as being pickled lemons, but the picture on the label shows a bunch of limes.
Pickled limes are also used in a variety of Thai-style soups like Gai Tom Manao Dong (chicken soup with pickled lime). You can use pickled lemons, pickled limes, or preserved lemons in this recipe as they are pretty much interchangeable. Online specialty stores, such as Import Food and Temple of Thai, offer a complete line of canned, bottled, and other prepackaged Thai food ingredients, including jars of pickled lemons.
- Jar of pickled lemons from Temple of Thai
- Jar of Thai pickled lime from Import Food
How to Serve Pickled Lime and Vine Ripe Tomato Relish
Serving suggestions for this recipe include using it on top of grilled chicken, shrimp, fish, pork, or beef. Grilled vegetables, such as zucchini, summer squash, and eggplant, would also go well with pickled lime and tomato relish. The pickled limes are extremely salty and a little bit of relish goes a long way.
Pickled Lime and Tomato Relish
Ingredients
- 16 oz Jar of pickled lemons or limes
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or dill – chopped
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper – optional
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the jar of pickled limes
- Cut each lime in half, remove any sedds, and chop into small pieces
- Add the cut up limes to a small glass bowl
- Chop the tomatoes into small pieces, about the same size as the chopped up pickled limes
- Stir the chopped tomatoes into the bowl filled with the chopped limes
- Stir in the fresh cilantro or fresh dill
- Chill the pickled lime and tomato relish for a few hours prior to serving
Notes
Pickled Lime and Tomato Salsa Recipe Tips and Suggestions
1. Please note, pickled lemons are extremely salty, so you don’t need to add any salt to this recipe.
2. Roasted bell peppers can be used in place of, or in addition to, the fresh tomatoes.
3. I prefer to use fresh cilantro in this recipe. If you aren’t a fan of cilantro, substitute an equal amount of chopped, fresh dill.
4. You can use any type of tomato – cherry, grape, roma, etc. as long as you end up with around 2 cups of chopped tomatoes.
Copyright Lynn Smythe. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Additional Recipe Ideas
Fresh Thai culinary ingredients contain a description of the fresh herbs and vegetables that are commonly used in Thai recipes. Dry Thai culinary ingredients discuss which premade dry packaged goods are used in Asian-style cooking. Specialty food items used in Thai Cuisine recipes discuss various canned and bottled cooking ingredients.
Let’s Keep in Touch
Do you have any tips or tricks you’d like to share? Leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email: info@thecreativecottage.net and I just might feature your story in a future blog post.
Take care,
Lynn Smythe
Founder and Chief Blogger
The Creative Cottage
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