Filipino-Style Spiced Vinegar

Ingredients

• 10 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup (35 g) dried fruit, such as raisins, cherries, or mangos (optional)
• 5 whole bird’s-eye chiles
• 1 (3-inch/7.5 cm) knob fresh ginger, scrubbed and minced
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 3 to 4 cups (720 ml to 1 L) white sugarcane vinegar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) fish sauce

Directions

1. Put the garlic, dried fruit, chiles, ginger, and peppercorns in a clean glass jar or bottle and cover with the vinegar and fish sauce. Loosely cover or cap the jar and let sit at room temperature in a dark place for 48 hours.
2. Transfer the jar to the refrigerator. The pinakurat will keep indefinitely, and the flavors will continue to develop over time.