There is a little pho place right around the corner that I just love. They have condiments on the tables including what appear to be just fresh sliced jalapenos in vinegar. They don't seem to be cooked nor do they seem to have been given any time to "pickle". The proprietor's English goes south every time I try to ask about their recipes, so I've been on my own for this one. I've tried distilled vinegar and rice vinegar. I've tried adding sugar, salt and a combination of both. I've tried diluting the vinegar with water. I've tried adding the jalapenos to hot vinegar. So far, they have never been "right". Even though my peppers are perfectly fresh, the ones at the restaurant seem somehow crisper and less aggressively hot, even though the seeds and ribs are intact. I suspect that there is a "secret ingredient" that I'm missing, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it could be. Can anyone help?
Edit: 8/2015 Answer (from over 1 year ago) follows.
Best Answer
Through experimentation, I got the answer. The answer is rice vinegar, a little sugar, a little salt (not so much salt and sugar as to make the vinegar seem like "seasoned rice vinegar" as for sushi, just a pinch of each) and time. After two days in the fridge the sliced fresh jalapenos mellow a bit, but they seem even a little crunchier than when they were first sliced. To me they are superior in every way to any jarred jalapenos I've ever had. After four days, they seem more like "pickled" jalapenos and start to lose some of the crunch that makes them so nice. I suspect that they might use a different vinegar, but the slightly seasoned rice vinegar works just fine.