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Tsukemono? |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anecdotal information
Photos by Don Nishimoto
By Emy Murakawa
Tsukemono (pickled food) is an integral part of most Japanese meals. Tsukeru means to soak. Common types of tsukemono (pickled food) that are popular include umeboshi (plum), takuan (daikon), and narazuke (uri, a cucumber-type vegetable). As often as I have enjoyed ochazuke with tsukemono, it’s amazing how I can’t name any but these most common! Most tsukemono was home-made when I was a child. Some obasan (literally, aunt, but used more generally for women in the community) would be noted for one type or another, and my father (and by default the rest of the family) was was a happy recipient of a constant supply of various kinds. Traditionally, the Japanese prepared tsukemono themselves with a tsukemonoki (Japanese pickle press), literally, a vessel for pickled things and a tsukemonoishi , literally, a stone for |
Some examples of shiozuke tsukemono. On the top is umeboshi (plum) and on the bottom is kyuri (Japanese cucumber). |
pickled things. Now, some common tsukemono can be readily purchased at markets carrying Japanese food, and larger varieties can be found in the Japanese markets.
Still, many Japanese still make their own tsukemono. All that is basically needed is the pickling food, the pickling medium, a container, and something to put pressure on top of the pickles. If you go to a Japanese market, you can probably find a modern tsukemonoki (a round plastic tub, sometimes in a variety of sizes, with a lid that has a screw-down pressure plate in it that is made just for this purpose).
Favorite pickling foods are daikon (Japanese radish), ume (plum), kabu (turnip), kyūri (cucumber), nappa (cabbage), kōrenso (spinach), uri (a type of gourd that is like a cross between a cucumber and a melon), and nasubi (Japanese eggplant), and are most commonly pickled in salt or brine, shoyu (soy sauce), miso (fermented soy bean), su (vinegar), nuka (bran), or sake (rice wine).
Types of Tsukemono
Karashizuke – Karashi(mustard)zuke. A pickling bed is made of sakekasu (what remains of the rice after making saké or minin) and mustard. Salted vegetables are pickled in the bed. The most known karashizuke is karashi-nasu using Japanese eggplants.
Kasuzuke – Kasu(from sakekasu, what remains of the rice after making saké or minin)zuke. A pickling bed is made by mixing sakekasu, sugar and salt. This is not only a great way to pickle vegetables, but fish and meat, too. It has sweet taste and the best-know example is narazuke. My late aunt used to make the best narazuke! Her secret? A liberal amount of Johnny Walker Black in the kasu!
Kōjizuke – Kōji(malted rice)zuke. This pickle can’t be preserved for a long time. One of the famous koojizuke is bettarazuke.
Misozuke – Miso(fermented soybean paste)zuke. Add sake to miso and pickle
vegetables with them. Misozuke is originated when farmers buried salted vegetables when they made miso for their families.
Nukazuke – Nuka(bran)zuke. Make nukadoka (pickling bed) by mixing nuka (rice bran), salt and water. Add dried kelp and dried chilies to increase the flavor. Vegetables are buried in nukadoko and are kept there for varying lengths of time. You can eat it in a couple of days, but the best nukazuke is buried for several months. The best-known examples are takuan (pickled Japanese radish) and kyūri no nukazuke (pickled cucumber).
Shiozuke – Shio(salt)zuke is salt pickling. This is the easiest and most common type. Slice vegetables are salted and placed under a weight for varying lengths of time. The best-known shiozuke, pickled for a long time, is umeboshi (pickled plum). Ichiyazuke, one-night pickles, is one of shiozuke variety.
Shōyuzuke – Shōyu(soy sauce)zuke is vegetables pickled with salt, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. It is possible to preserve vegetables for a long time in this manner. Yamagoboo no shōyuzuke (pickled burdock) and fukujinzuke (7 kinds of vegetables such as Japanese radish, eggplant, etc., pickled) are examples of shōyuzuke.
Sūzuke – Sū(vinegar)zuke is vinegar pickling. This is another easy and common type of pickling. Beni-shōga (pickled gingers, beni meaning “red”) and rakkyo (pickled scallions) are the best-know examples of sūzuke.
List of Some Tsukemono
Bettarazuke – a kind of pickled daikon made by pickling with sugar, salt, and saké without filtering the koji (a yeast whose enzymes convert the starch in the rice to sugar). Its name is taken from stickiness (bettara) of koji leftover from pickling process. Bettarazuke has a crispy sweet taste.
Fukujinzuke – 7 kinds of vegetables such as Japanese radish, eggplant, etc., pickled in shōyu.
Matsumaezuke – originates from Hokkaido. It is made by swiping surume (dried squid) and konbu (kelp) with wet cloth and then cutting them into thin strips with scissors. Kazunoko (herring roe, pinkish yellow, usually pickled) is chopped into small bits and carrot and ginger sliced into smaller and thinner strips than the surume or the konbu. These ingredients are mixed with sake, soy sauce and mirin that have been boiled once. Several slices of red pepper may be added. This should be stored in a cool location for a week before eating.
Narazuke – made from uri, a type of gourd that is like a cross between a cucumber and a melon. This is the most familiar of the kasuzuke.
Senmaizuke – made from daikon, this originates from Kyoto.
Shibazuke – usually made from nasubi (Japanese eggplant) or kyūri (cucumber), distinctive for its purple color.
Wasabizuke – I have heard of this, but have never eaten it. It is a grayish mush with vegetable flecks, made with wasabi and tofu kasu (what remains after making tofu).
