Japanese pickled vegetables “Tsukemono”
About Japanese pickled vegetables “Tsukemono”
Japanese pickled vegetables “Tsukemono” is a very common side dish and it goes very well with cooked rice. Some people might say that they can eat as much rice as they want with pickles alone. There are various types of pickles, and each has its own characteristics depending on the ingredients, seasonings, and method of pickling.
This time I would like to share pickles made with miso and yogurt. There is a pickle called nukazuke. This is pickles made by pickling vegetables in rice bran bed. Rice bran bed is a mixture of rice bran, salt, water, red pepper, etc. and fermented with lactic acid. The character is deep flavor and moderate acidity. It is difficult to make rice bran bed outside Japan, so you can use miso and yogurt instead. Both of them are fermented foods, to easily make something similar. It’s very easy to make, so if you have miso and yogurt at home, try making it. Below, I put a link to an article about nutrition and health benefits of miso, please read it if you like.
Recipe Tips
Firstly, sprinkle the surface of the vegetables with salt and leave them for 10-15 minutes. This will make it easier for the flavors to permeate. However, you should wash the vegetables to remove excess salt from the surface before pickling. Although it depends on the vegetables, it is usually ready to eat after 3-4 hours of pickling.
The ratio of miso to yogurt is 3 parts miso to 1 part yogurt. You can use any kind of miso, but white miso gives the vegetables a nicer color. If you use dark-colored miso, daikon radish will turn brownish. And you can use the miso and yogurt mixture for miso soup. Please click the link below for how to make miso soup.
I often use cucumbers, daikon radishes, and carrots, but feel free to experiment with other vegetables that you can eat raw.
Japanese pickled vegetables “Tsukemono”
Equipment
- 1 Zip lock bag
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 90 gram Miso
- 30 ~ 40 gram Plain yogurt
- 300 ~ 400 gram Vegetable of your choice (e.g. Cucumber, daikon radish, carrot etc.)
- 1/2~1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Put miso and yogurt in a bowl and mix well.
- Peel the skin of daikon radishes and carrots. Cut off both ends of the vegetables and cut large ones in half or quarters lengthwise. (If the cucumber is large, cut it in half lengthwise and remove the watery seeds with a spoon. Cut hard vegetables such as carrots into small pieces.)
- Sprinkle the vegetables with salt and leave them for 10-15 minutes. Rinse with water to remove salt and wipe off moisture with kitchen towel.
- Put vegetables in a ziplock plastic bag, add miso and yogurt mixture and mix. Remove the air, seal and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.Take out the vegetables from the bag, wash once, and wipe off the moisture with a kitchen towel. Cut into desired size and place on the plate or bowl.
Notes
Make a small amount at first. Make it a couple of times and find your favorite vegetables and pickling time.
Thank you for reading and Bon Appetit!