My grandmother smelled like garlic all the time because she spent a lot of time pickling it:

All the grand kids would get in on the action if we were there while she was making it. I really loved helping her in the kitchen when I was really young, around 5 or 6 years old, so I would always volunteer to peel the garlic cloves. I felt really fucking useful and awesome, peeling away with my chubby little kid hands. But because I was so young, my patience meter did fall rapidly after 15 minutes and I would dump the unpeeled cloves into the jars. Luckily, this wasn’t a big deal to my grandmother.

When I make this pickled garlic recipe, I peel about half of the cloves for no rational reason. It’s like a surprise in every bite. The peeled garlic cloves are more salty than garlicky, and the unpeeled ones have that sharp fresh garlic flavor with a umami punch. If you’re a pickle hater, it’s really not as vinegary or sour as the pickle flavor you probably have in your mind: instead of using a harsh white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, I used a delicate and sweet rice wine vinegar. Give it a try!

For a shitload of garlic:

• 8 heads of garlic
  
• ¾ c. soy sauce
• 1 c. water
• ¼ c. rice wine vinegar
  
• ¼ c. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. gochugaru
  

Separate garlic into cloves – you may choose to peel them or not peel them (if you’re lazy like me or you like a strong garlic flavor). In a medium saucepan, bring soy sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, and sugar to a gentle boil, about 5 minutes. Let it cool completely.

Put garlic cloves in a liter-sized glass jar. Fill it with the soy sauce mixture. Top with gochugaru – do not mix, let it sit. Close tightly with a lid, and let stand at room temperature for a month in a dark, cool place.

You’re probably confused as to how this thing should be consumed. In my family, we serve with white rice and family-style Chinese accompaniments or we’ll stuff it in a bao with some dried pork. Sometimes, I’ll substitute raw garlic with this and use it in a stir-fry for a hint of sweetness. 

P.S. If your pickled garlic cloves are unpeeled, you need to peel it before consuming, cooking, or baking with it.

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