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Pique
Pique boricua: a bottle of vinegar steeped with tiny hot chillies, garlic, oregano and pineapple peel, shaken over rice and beans
Every Puerto Rican kitchen, and every roadside kiosko along the beach at Luquillo or Piñones, has a bottle of pique on the counter: an old bottle stuffed with tiny ají caballero or bird's-eye chillies, garlic, oregano, peppercorns and often strips of pineapple peel, topped up with vinegar. A few shakes go over arroz con habichuelas, alcapurrias and bacalaítos, mofongo, sancocho and the Christmas pernil, and the bottle is refilled with fresh vinegar over and over. It is thin and sharp rather than thick like a sauce, fiercely hot, garlicky and herbal, and the pineapple gives a fruity, faintly sweet note. The mistake to avoid is loading the bottle with garlic and fresh herbs, watering down the vinegar and leaving it in a hot kitchen for months: garlic and herbs need full-strength vinegar and a cold fridge to stay safe. It is ready after about five days, when the vinegar has turned pale orange, smells of chilli and a single drop on your tongue is hot. Chef's tip: slit a few chillies and leave the rest whole, so the heat keeps building as you top up the bottle.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 24
Ingredients
- 2 ⅛ oz small hot chilliesají caballero, bird's-eye or Thai chillies, red, green or mixed
- 3 pineapple peel strips1 cm wide, from a well-scrubbed pineapple
- 1 tsp dried oreganoMexican or Puerto Rican oregano brujo if you can find it
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups white vinegarat least 5% acidity; never diluted with water
- 3 culantro leaves (optional)or a small sprig of coriander
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Sterilise a 750 ml glass bottle with a wide neck and its cap: boil them in water for 10 minutes, or heat the bottle in a 250°F oven for 10 minutes and boil the cap for 5 minutes. Let them cool and dry completely.
15 minStep 2: Wash the 2 ⅛ oz small hot chillies and dry them well. Trim the stems to a short stub and slit 4–5 of them lengthwise with a small knife, wearing gloves if your skin is sensitive.
5 minStep 3: Peel the 6 garlic cloves and halve each clove lengthwise. Scrub the pineapple under running water and cut 3 strips of 3 pineapple peel strips peel with very little flesh attached.
5 minStep 4: Drop the chillies, garlic, pineapple peel, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 tsp salt and 3 culantro leaves (if using) into the bottle, using a chopstick to push them down.
Step 5: Pour in the 2 cups white vinegar through a funnel until everything is covered by at least 2 cm. Cap tightly and shake to dissolve the salt.
Step 6: Refrigerate for 5–7 days, shaking once a day. It is ready when the vinegar is tinged orange and tastes hot from a single drop.
Step 7: Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 months, always with the solids under the vinegar. You can top up with fresh full-strength vinegar once or twice as you use it; after 3 months, start a new bottle with fresh garlic. Discard it if the vinegar turns cloudy or slimy, you see mould, it fizzes, the cap bulges, or the garlic smells off.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 2 kcal
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 0 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pique take?
- About 15 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 24 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of dried oregano?
- Dried thyme or marjoram, same amount.
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