Tsukemono — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Traditional Japanese pickled vegetables that accompany virtually every meal in Japan. From quick salt-pressed cucumbers to months-long fermented rice bran pickles, tsukemono add essential contrast and probiotics.

Ingredients

2 Japanese cucumbers, sliced
1 daikon radish, thinly sliced
2 small Japanese eggplants, quartered
3 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small piece kombu seaweed
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Instructions

1 Wash and slice all the vegetables into uniform pieces, keeping the cucumbers, daikon, and eggplant separate as they will pickle at different rates.
2 Toss each type of vegetable with salt in separate bowls, gently massaging the salt into the vegetables until they begin to release their natural moisture.
3 Place a plate and a heavy weight on top of each bowl and let the vegetables press for at least two hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator for deeper flavor.
4 Drain the excess liquid from the pickled vegetables, then dress them lightly with rice vinegar, a touch of sugar, and soy sauce to balance the saltiness.
5 Arrange the different pickled vegetables in small dishes, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve alongside rice, miso soup, or any Japanese main course.

Did You Know?

Japan has over forty distinct methods of pickling, and the nukazuke technique of fermenting in rice bran requires a living bed of bran that some families have maintained for over one hundred years.