Pickled Red Chiles

We welcomed these pickled red chiles in a twenty-plus-dish banquet in Luodai. The chiles’ vivid red color and tart-sweet heat cleansed our palate in the midst of excess. In the fall, you can often find fresh red chiles at the farmers’ market, and Asian markets carry them year round. Long, slim cayenne chiles are hot, but pickling tames much of their heat. If you can’t find them, use another mild to hot red chile.