Jeremy Sry · Cambodian pickles ជ្រក់បន្លែ

Chrouk

Name: Chrouk
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Cambodian
Ingredients: 1 large carrot, julienned or thinly sliced; 2 medium cucumbers, sliced into rounds or half-moons; ¼ small cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded; Optional 1 to 2 red chilies or a few strips of red bell pepper, sliced, for color and a little heat; 6 oz granulated sugar; 6 oz water (¾ cup); 6 oz vinegar, rice or distilled white (¾ cup); 2 tsp salt, kosher or sea salt; 1 Tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp kosher salt, for dry tossing the vegetables

Carrot, cucumber and cabbage in a sweet, tangy brine. Twenty minutes of work, a jar of crunch for three weeks.

CambodianSide dish1 quart jar70 cal a serving

20Min hands-on

24Hr to peak flavor

3Wk in the fridge

About 20 minutes of hands-on work. Ready to eat about an hour after the jar goes in the fridge, best after 24 hours.

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The story

For years, I rejected my culture's food. I thought fitness meant plain chicken and broccoli.

Turns out my mom's chrouk was the OG meal prep all along. Twenty minutes of work, three weeks in the fridge, and a jar of something bright and crunchy ready next to every meal.

Chrouk means pickled in Khmer, and chrouk ban le is pickled vegetables. They show up at every Cambodian meal: next to grilled beef skewers, on fried rice, tucked into bánh mì. The brine leans sweet on purpose. It cuts through rich, salty, spicy food and gives your mouth a break.

This isn't just about food, it's about realizing that “healthy” doesn't have to mean joyless.

My mom smiling with a bowl of salted vegetables in her kitchen

Jeremy Sry and his mom laughing at the table over jars of chrouk

Cooking with my mom · Watch the reel on Instagram

How it works

Three moves,
one jar.

The salt toss

A teaspoon of salt pulls the water out first. That's where the crunch comes from.

The 1:1:1 brine

Equal parts sugar, water and vinegar, plus a little salt and fish sauce. Sweet first, then tang.

The wait

Good in an hour, best after 24. It keeps getting better for weeks.

How to make it

Method

Prep your vegetables

Julienne or thinly slice the carrot, slice the cucumbers into rounds or half-moons, and thinly slice or shred the cabbage. Combine everything in a large bowl. Cut the pieces about the same size so they pickle evenly and look good in the jar.
The salt toss

Toss the vegetables vigorously with 1 tsp kosher salt, dry, before any liquid goes in. The salt pulls out the excess water, and that's what keeps them crunchy for weeks.

Don't skip this. It's the difference between soggy and sensational.
Rest and rinse

Let the salted vegetables sit for 5 to 10 minutes. You'll see water pooling in the bowl, which is exactly what you want. Rinse them briefly under cold water, then squeeze out as much water as you can.
Make the brine

Like my mom does it, no stove needed. In a bowl, stir the sugar, water, vinegar, 2 tsp salt and fish sauce together until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved and the brine turns clear. It takes a few minutes of steady stirring. If you're adding red pepper, toss it in with the vegetables.

Equal parts sugar, water and vinegar is the signature sweet-sour balance. Start there, then adjust to taste.
Pack and pour

Pack the vegetables tightly into a clean quart jar, pressing down gently to push out air pockets. Pour the cooled brine over them until they're fully submerged, leaving about ½ inch of headspace at the top.
Seal and refrigerate

Seal the jar with an airtight lid and refrigerate it right away. The pickles are ready to eat in about an hour, but the flavor is at its best after 24 hours.

They keep up to 3 weeks in the fridge, and the flavor keeps developing.

Close-up of a jar of chrouk with cabbage, carrot and cucumber lifted out on chopsticks

For the next 3 weeks

Serve it with everything.

Next to grilled meat, like Cambodian beef skewers.
On fried rice, rice bowls and noodle dishes.
Tucked into a bánh mì.
Straight from the jar, any time you want something bright and crunchy.

Macros, Pursuit-style

Snap it. Get the macros.

Point your phone at your plate and the numbers come back in seconds. A ½ cup of chrouk on the side? 70 calories. No food scale, no guesswork.

Get your macros dialed with Pursuit

Phone showing the chrouk macros for a ½ cup serving: 70 kcal, 17 g carbs, 1 g protein, 0 g fat

If it goes sideways

Fixes

Pickles went soggy?

The salt toss got rushed or the vegetables weren't squeezed dry. Give the salt the full 5 to 10 minutes, rinse briefly, then squeeze hard before they go in the jar.

Tastes flat after an hour?

Give it a day. Chrouk is good at one hour and best after 24, and it keeps getting better in the fridge.

Too sweet or too sour for you?

Start with equal parts sugar, water and vinegar. Next batch, adjust one of them slightly until it tastes right to you.

Vegetables poking out of the brine?

Press them down and pack tighter. Everything should sit fully under the brine with about ½ inch of headspace.

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Chrouk