—A Selection of Pickled Japan

by Nancy Singleton Hachisu hen are in a bowl of . Along with a bowl of season, we eat them madly soup, that’s the quintessential Photographs by Kenji Miura W and at every meal. But often we Japanese meal and follows the have more than we can possibly eat ichiju issai formula—one soup, (or give away), so we make pickles, one dish—the basic Buddhist a time-honored tradition on farms repast. To say that pickles are a all over the world. Farm vegetables way of life in Japan would be a are pickled not only for storage gross understatement. While today but also for variation in flavor. We most pickles are commercially use , , miso, , produced, not too long ago, rice bran, or lees—alone or and preserving defined in combination—to preserve and the rhythm of Japanese country enhance the vegetables. Pickles life as they had for centuries. meant to be eaten quickly are Sometimes it is difficult to treated raw, while pickles destined fight to retain (or regain) dying for long-term storage must first be country ways, to fight against the salted and dried for several days. overwhelming tide of modern life Here is a selection of fairly that washes around us. But then, easy to make and deliciously it is deeply satisfying to produce representative farmhouse pickles. beautifully tasty (additive-free) Pickles that take time require pickles from local organic farm patience more than hands-on produce or from vegetables preparation time; quick pickles grown in your own fields. And it are more like salted vegetables. All is deeply satisfying to know that pickles are wonderful served with even a foreigner can take a giant step towards preserving the way of Japan.

64 Ikebana International Vol.56 Issue 2 Salt-Massaged Eggplant (and eggplants soak up oil like sponges). with and Shiso Nasu no Shiomomi 2 125-g (1/3-lb.) Japanese (serves 4) eggplants There always comes a point during 2 1/2 Tbsps sea salt the summer when I start feeling 1 tsp slivered ginger like I don’t want to cook another 1 tsp shiso leaves chiffonade eggplant. But I never get tired of eating eggplant raw, fatigued in salt. So very refreshing, and of course low in calories, since most other eggplant recipes require oil Slice eggplants into very thin rounds. Toss in a medium-sized bowl with salt and a handful of ice cubes. Let sit 15 minutes. Squeeze out the water, discard the salty water, and return the squeezed eggplant to the bowl. Drop in the ginger slivers and shiso chiffonade and distribute gently with chopsticks. Mound in a small bowl and serve.

Variation: Replace the shiso and ginger with a small red pepper cut into fine rounds.

65 Salt-Pickled Turnips and the turnips and cut them in half and serve immediately or pack in vertically then crosswise into thin a plastic bag and chill for a couple Turnip Leaves half rounds (3 mm /1/8 inch). Slice of hours. These keep for a few days Kabu no Shiozuke a couple of small handfuls of leaves refrigerated, but will continue (serves 6) into 5- by 3-cm (2- by 1 1/4-inch) to exude water and loose their This dish epitomizes everything pieces. Toss the turnips and leaves pleasing crispness. I love about Japanese farm food: together and sprinkle with salt simple, pristine flavor of the field (about 4%). Gently, but firmly Variations: Use carrots or and quick to execute. massage in the salt and let rest. sliced into thin rounds in place Some water will be given off. of turnips. Adjust salt to taste. 8 tender turnips with leaves (about With a very sharp knife or Include some leaves if at all 675 g/1 1/2 lbs) peeler, shave off the possible because they not only add Scant 2 Tbsps sea salt (27 g) yellow zest of the or lemon color to the dish but also give the 2 yuzu (or 1 Meyer lemon) and finely julienne. Slice chilis sweet vegetables an added earthy, 2 small fresh or dried red chili into thin rounds. Mix the zest, piquant pizzazz. peppers chili, and ginger slivers with the 1 tsp slivered ginger (optional) turnips. Massage one more time

Slice off turnip tops and reserve. Pare away any discoloration on

66 Ikebana International Vol.56 Issue 2 the slightly dried Chinese cabbage, cut side down, on the bottom of the pickling container, rubbing each one with salt before you set it in tub. Sprinkle the layer of cabbage with some of the sliced garlic, chili peppers, and yuzu zest. Continue until all the cabbage quarters have been rubbed with salt and packed in the pickling tub. Don’t forget to thrown in some garlic, chili peppers, and yuzu peel before you start each new layer. Make sure the cabbage is packed snuggly. Set the pickle tub’s drop lid on top (if you have one), weight with a rock or other heavy object (about the equivalent weight of the cabbage) and cover. Let sit outside in a cold shady spot, out of direct sunlight, for a couple of weeks. (Check after one week to make sure enough brine has been exuded to cover the cabbage. If not, sprinkle in a little more salt.) Salt-Pickled Napa dried in quarter wedges. If mold forms, lift it off the pickles gently and wipe any mold spots Cabbage 8 small heads Chinese cabbage on the wooden tub with a neutral Hakusai no Tsukemono (about 600 g/1 1/3 lbs each), alcohol such as shochu or vodka. (serves 6) quartered vertically The pickles can be eaten any Chinese cabbage (hakusai) and Zest from 4 small yuzu (substitute time, but perhaps better to wait daikon are to Japanese winter as Meyer lemons) at least two weeks. They reach eggplant and cucumbers are to 8 small dried Japanese (or árbol) optimum flavor after one month, summer. If a farming family grows chili peppers and are still good up to six weeks. nothing else, at least they will 8 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced be growing those two vegetables 145 g sea salt (3% of cabbage during their seasons. I can still weight) picture my father-in-law out in the field tying up his heads of Chinese Remove any outside wilted leaves cabbages to prevent leaves from and dry the cabbage quarters for spreading out loosely. The Japanese one day under the cold winter sun value the pristine white juicy leaves on sheets of newspaper set directly that form when tied, also the tight on the ground. cylinder shape is necessary for Line a plastic or wooden making cabbage pickles, since the pickling tub with a large pickling- cabbages are sliced vertically and grade plastic bag. Pack one layer of

67 Drop cucumber slices, ginger slivers, and konbu threads, into the pickling liquid and cook 1 minute over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 1 hour. Strain the liquid into a bowl and reserve cucumber, ginger, and konbu. Return liquid to saucepan and bring to a boil again, throw solid ingredients back into the boiling liquid, and boil for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 1 hour. Repeat this step once more for a total of 3 times. After you have boiled the pickles 3 times, let them cool in their pickling solution, covered. They are now ready Cucumbers Pickled in 1 kg (2 pounds) Japanese to eat and can be stored in the cucumbers (7 or 8 medium) refrigerator for up to one week. Soy Sauce and 1 2.5-cm (1-inch) knob ginger, Kyuri no Mirin-zuke peeled and finely slivered (serves 6) Small handful (125 cc) of konbu These full-flavored pickles have threads (ito konbu) a hint of sweetness and are quite addicting. Organic soy sauce and Cut cucumbers into 6-mm (1/4- are best, if you can inch) rounds find them. Add soy sauce, mirin, and rice vinegar into a saucepan just large 360 cc Japanese soy sauce enough to hold the cucumbers 240 cc best-quality mirin rounds and bring to a boil. 60 cc rice vinegar

68 Ikebana International Vol.56 Issue 2 Tosa Onions 2 medium yellow onions (300 g/ a small bowl. Heat a medium-sized 2/3 lb), peeled and sliced into fine pan or wok over low heat Tamanegi no Tosa-zuke rings. and stir-fry (dry) the dried bonito (serves 6) 1 tsp salt shavings for a couple seconds. The trick to these simple and 1 Tbsp soy sauce Toss the onion, soy sauce-sake, beguiling pickles is to make 2 Tbsps sake and dried bonito together in the sure that they absorb the salt 60 cc lightly packed dried bonito medium-sized bowl and weight long enough so they are no shavings (hanakatsuo) with 3 small plates. Leave for 30 longer raw and unpleasantly minutes then serve. The onions hot. The Tosa region of southern Drop onion rings into a medium- will start to droop (and exude Shikoku is famous for bonito, so sized bowl and separate them with water) as time elapses, so they best preparations that bear that name your fingers. Sprinkle with salt and eaten quickly. refer to the use of dried bonito toss with two hands to distribute flakes ( ). These are the salt evenly. Leave the onions particularly good eaten alongside to soften, about 15 to 20 minutes. a strongly flavored, oily fish such They should still retain their as yellowtail. This recipe was shape, but be just starting to relax. adapted from one found in Eri Rinse lightly under cold water, and Yamaguchi’s now out-of-print The pat dry on a clean, dry, dish towel. Well-Flavored Vegetable. Measure soy sauce and sake in

69 handfuls to express liquid, and drop carrots into a bowl as you go. Remove the konbu from the sake, reserve the soaking liquid, and slice the soaked konbu into 3- mm x 3.75-cm (1/8-in by 1 1/2-in) strips. Add the konbu strips to the bowl of carrots. Starting with the legs, snip the dried squid into 3-mm x 2.5-cm (1/8-in by 1-in) slivers with sturdy kitchen shears. Some legs will be too thick, so you will need to slice them again vertically, but be sure to cut the body portion horizontally. Add dried squid slivers to the bowl of carrots and konbu. Carrots Pickled with 2 1/2 Tbsps soy sauce Season with the garlic, soy Konbu and Dried Squid sauce, and 1 Tbsp of the sake Snip the konbu into 4 pieces, set on reserved from soaking the konbu. Matsumae Zuke a small plate and douse with the Mix well and set aside for several (serves 6-8) sake to soften. Cut the carrots into hours to allow the flavors to These garlic-infused carrots, more 4-cm (1 3/4-inch) matchsticks, intermingle and ripen, and the a salad than a pickle, are one of and gently massage with salt in a squid and konbu to soften. This the dishes I look forward to most bowl. Let carrots sit for 10 minutes, keeps well stored in the fridge during the holidays. The fresh, then firmly but gently squeeze by for more than a week. It’s good crunchy julienned carrots and straight from the refrigerator or konbu strips are subtly flavored served at room temperature. with garlic, and the salty sea taste of the dried squid (and konbu) comes through in the background, tantalizing your tongue. Matsumae zuke is a relief from the characteristically sweet New Year foods ( ryori).

1 22.5- x 7.5-cm (9- x 3-inch) piece of konbu 2 Tbsps sake 500 g (1 lb) carrots 1 tsp salt 1/2 piece (MSG-free) dried squid (surume) 3 small garlic cloves, finely chopped

70 Ikebana International Vol.56 Issue 2 Thinly Sliced Ginger Pickled in Sweet Vinegar (makes One Liter/Quart) Most commercial gari is full of additives so I make a big batch of these in the summer from our field ginger. I embarked on my project a bit late in the season, thus the ginger was no longer that characteristically lovely pink of new ginger. Nonetheless, the pickles are tasty as a palette cleanser or a quick bright bite before dinner. And, of course, to accompany .

1 kg (2 lbs) fresh summer ginger roots Sweet-Vinegared Daikon 240 cc rice vinegar 2 Tbsps salt 3 Tbsps granulated sugar 750 cc rice vinegar and Carrots 700 cc julienned daikon 400 g sugar 300 cc julienned carrots (serves 4-6) 1 1/2 tsps sea salt Often served at New Year, namasu is a bright, crunchy dish that acts Zest from two small yuzu or one as a refreshing digestive during large Meyer lemon, cut into fine the holidays when there are guests slivers and we tend to overeat. The sugar Heat the vinegar and sugar to vinegar ratio is one of taste, together in a small saucepan over but I prefer these a bit astringent, low heat to melt the sugar. Cool to with not too much sugar, since room temperature before using. daikon and carrots are especially Keep the daikon and carrots sweet in the winter. Namasu in two separate bowls. Sprinkle keeps for about a week and is the daikon with 1 tsp of salt and a pretty splash of color on the the carrots with 1/2 tsp. Massage table with almost any meal. The the salt in gently and let sit for 10 carrots are a dominant color that minutes before squeezing out the can overwhelm the dish, so keep excess water and dropping into a the balance of daikon to carrot clean medium-sized mixing bowl. at roughly 2:1 (or 70% daikon Toss the daikon and carrot with and 30% carrot). This dish is the slivered yuzu peel and cooled best made in winter from freshly sweet vinegar. Chill for one day picked daikon and carrots at their before serving cold. peak of flavor.

71 Peel and slice each root as thinly as possible with a razor-sharp knife or mandoline, trying to maintain the interesting natural shape of the ginger. Place slices in a medium- sized bowl. When you have cut up about half of the ginger, toss in half of the salt and massage gently with your hands to distribute. Let sit for an hour or so, and continue cutting the second half of the ginger (follow the same steps for the second half as you follow for the first—this method helps you avoid any discoloration on the roots). After the first half of the ginger has rested in the salt for an hour, lift the slices out from Hard-Boiled Egg Pickled any accumulated liquid and lay in Miso out flat on half of a clean kitchen towel (taking care not to break the Tamago no Miso-zuke shapes). Fold the other half on top (serves 6 or more) of the ginger and press gently to The miso infuses the eggs with wick out any lingering salt water. a salty twang that renders these Repeat this step with a second creamy eggs almost irresistible. clean kitchen towel after you have with miso and pack gently into finished cutting up and the 8 farm fresh eggs an earthenware crock (or plastic second half of the ginger. Leave 500 cc brown rice or barley miso container) adding more miso as the second half of the ginger in the you go along to fill in the empty towel for 10 minutes, then put the Boil eggs for 8 to 9 minutes, spaces. Store in a cool, dark place ginger slices into a medium-sized depending on size. Cool hot eggs for a half a day or overnight bowl. in water, then peel. Lay the peeled (maximum 12 hours). Remove Heat vinegar and sugar in a eggs on a dry dishtowel and pat dry from the crock, scrape off the small saucepan over medium-high Smear the well-dried eggs miso, then wash and dry. Slice heat, stirring occasionally, until the the pickled eggs in half and serve sugar has melted and the mixture before dinner with or has reached a slow boil. Remove as a side dish with rice. Keeps from heat and immediately pour refrigerated for several days. over the squeezed, salted ginger slices. Let the vinegared ginger cool naturally then pour into a clean jar and store in the refrigerator for several months.

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