Chanh Muoi (Vietnamese Salty Lemonade) and How to Preserve Lemons

Since I'm on this tangent about acquired tastes ie. weird food combinations, it seemed only fitting to post my recipe for chanh muoi (Vietnamese salty lemonade). It's on the menu at most Vietnamese restaurants so if I've now stirred your curiosity, you can order it the next time you go. You can also find jars of this at the Asian grocery store. Since I'm blessed with an uncle who has a Meyer lemon tree, you know I had to make my own!

First the recipe for How to Preserve Lemons, you'll need:

A leftover cleaned jar of spaghetti sauce or whatever large jar you have on hand. (Incidentally, does anyone else love Francesco Rinaldi sauce? I sometimes find it on sale at Albertson's for $1 to $1.50. I love the fresh taste and that the ingredients list only tomatoes, and whatever other spices or flavorings, but not multi-syllabic unknown preservatives.)

For a 24-oz jar, you'll need:

Lemons, however many will fit in the jar.
1/4 cup salt
water

Scrub the lemon rinds clean. These jars are pretty small so you'll probably need to halve or quarter the lemons for them to fit. Fill the jar with water. Now, dump that water into a pot and you'll know how much water you need to fill the jar. Add 1/4 cup salt and turn heat to high. Stir to dissolve the salt. When the salty water boils, pour into the jar and close the lid tightly. Flip the jar upside down and the lid should "pop," thereby sealing the jar. Leave at room temperature or in a sunny place so the lemons will be pickled.

This step is optional, but my mother believes that it helps eliminate the rind aftertaste. After a day or two, open the jar and drain the water. Again, do the salty water, boiling, sealing thing.

After about a month, these lemons should be properly salty enough for the Vietnamese salty lemonade or any other recipes. Since the lemons are now pickled, you can store them pretty much indefinitely.


Chanh Muoi (Vietnamese Salty Lemonade)

This lemonade should be a combination of salty, sour, and sweet flavors. As always, adjust according to your tastes.

You'll need:

a preserved lemon half or so
sugar
water

Seriously? It's lemonade folks! Mash up the lemon (including the rind) in a glass until all the juices run out. I just do this with a spoon. Add water and a spoonful of sugar at a time until you get the flavors you want.

If you want it carbonated, add seltzer water or club soda in place of the water.

Enjoy!


If you don't want to boil water, Christine of Holy Basil has another method for preserving lemons.