Pickled Squash with Lemon Grass

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon peppercorns black
• 0.8 pound butternut squash 
• 6 stalks lemon grass fresh
• 2 cups seasoned rice vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons sugar 

Equipment

• oven
• microwave
• peeler

Directions

1. With a vegetable peeler, pare skin from squash and discard; cut squash in half and scoop out and discard seeds.
2. Cut squash into matchstick-size pieces (1/4 in. by 1/4 in. by 2 in.).
3. Rinse lemon grass and pull off tough outer layers.
4. Cut off stem ends and coarse leaves.
5. Cut stalks into 1-inch pieces.
6. In a 1-quart glass measure, stir together lemon grass, vinegar, sugar, and peppercorns.
7. Heat in a microwave oven at full power (100%) until mixture boils, 3 to 4 minutes total. At once, add squash, and let stand until tender-crisp to bite, about 15 minutes.
8. Serve, or chill airtight up to 1 week.