Pickles Pickled vegetables

Tsukemono – Japanese Pickled Vegetables

In Germany, people mostly know pickled sour cucumbers. The Japanese version is called “Tsukemono” (pickled vegetables) and is made from various kinds of vegetables. Their fresh, sweet-sour flavor enhances many dishes and, although they're just a small side dish, they are still an important part of typical Japanese meals.

Tsukemono goes especially well with rice and meat dishes, but it’s also wonderful with sushi or as a snack with sake or beer. It’s also a pretty garnish for dishes, such as Kare (Japanese Curry). Tsukemono is refreshing and cleansing, and creates a pleasant balance to rich dishes.

Tsukemono – The Health Aspect

Through the fermentation process, the already healthy vegetables get an extra boost of nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and probiotics. Tsukemono are macrobiotic, which has a positive effect on gut health, and they also help regulate excess stomach acid.

Tsukemono – So Diverse

Tsukemono can be made with almost any vegetable and pickled in various liquids. This creates countless varieties of this popular side dish. For example, there are Tsukemono pickled in rice vinegar, salt, soy sauce, rice bran, and miso, with each liquid bringing its own special taste. And of course, every family has its own Tsukemono family recipe. In Japanese supermarkets you can buy ready-made Tsukemono, and choose from at least 20 to 50 different variations.

Here are the most popular ones:

• Amazuzuke (rice vinegar and sugar)
• Asazuke (salt brine)
• Karashizuke (mustard)
• Kasuzuke (sake lees)
• Kōjizuke (kōji mold (yeast))
• Misozuke (miso)
• Nukazuke (rice bran (nuka))
• Satōzuke (sugar)
• Shiozuke (salt)
• Shiroppuzuke (syrup)
• Shōyuzuke (soy sauce)
• Suzuke (vinegar (rice vinegar))
• Wasabizuke (wasabi)

Which Tsukemono Are Most Popular?

Depending on the preparation method and vegetable used, Tsukemono has its own name. Here you’ll find the most popular varieties. Try them all and find your favorite!

Umeboshi

Umeboshi are pickled plums with a very unique taste. They are sweet, sour, and salty at the same time – truly delicious. In Germany, this specialty is called “salt plum,” although they’re actually closer to apricots. But I’ll go into more detail about that in a separate article.

Takuan

Takuan is pickled radish (daikon) that glows in a yellow color. It is first dried and then pickled in rice bran for several months. The special color comes from the dried gardenia fruit, which is added during pickling. If you buy Takuan in the supermarket, it is sadly usually artificially colored. By the way, you can make really delicious vegan sushi with Takuan.

Beni shōga

Beni shōga is ginger (shouga) cut into strips and pickled. Its ruby red color makes it easy to recognize. Thanks to its crisp, fresh flavor, it goes well with meat dishes and fatty foods, and you’ll often find it on the beef dish Gyudon and on noodles like Yakisoba. But it can also be breaded and deep-fried as Tempura, giving it a slightly different flavor.

Sushi Ginger (Gari)

The pickled ginger that is typically served with sushi is also considered Tsukemono. Unlike Beni shōga, Gari has a sweet-spicy flavor and is perfect for cleansing the palate from fishy flavors. It’s also sliced into very thin pieces.

Rakkyo

Rakkyo look like garlic cloves, but the appearance is deceiving. They are Chinese onions, which taste somewhat like shallots. They are pickled in salt, soy sauce, or sweet vinegar and served with Kare.

Hakusaizuke

Hakusaizuke is pickled Chinese cabbage. But the flavor, in contrast to its famous relative, Korean kimchi, is very different. It tastes slightly sour and has a deliciously fresh lemon aroma. In the original recipe the yuzu lemon is used. I love Hakusaizuke and eat it very regularly.

But there are many other Tsukemono varieties as well. Vegetables that are often used include, for example, cucumber (Asaduke), eggplant, ginger, cabbage, radish, plums (Umeboshi) and onions.

Making Tsukemono Yourself

Some types of Tsukemono can be prepared in just a few days, while others need to be pickled for several months before they’re ready to eat. “Asuzake” (for example, cucumber salad) is a very quick type of Tsukemono, where the fresh vegetables are only pickled for a few hours or overnight. You can easily make Tsukemono yourself. The important thing is to follow the right steps: first, grate the chosen vegetable, then place it in a pickling liquid. While it rests, it must be weighted down. For this, you can use two nested bowls with the Tsukemono in between. A bit more convenient is the version with special Tsukemono pots (Japanese cooking utensils). It’s worth buying one if you often make Tsukemono. Here we introduce you to three different pot options:

The Classic

You can find a typical Tsukemono pot on Amazon for about 25 euros. Simply put the vegetables and pickling liquid in, season it, and screw down the press until it’s sealed. After a few days, you can try your homemade Tsukemono.

The Smaller Version

If you don’t have much space in your kitchen cupboards, this small pot might be right for you. Price-wise, it's similar to the classic version.

Authentic Tsukemono Pot

If you want to make Tsukemono as authentically as possible, you can use this ceramic pot. It's not as practical as the plastic versions, but it looks really stylish. On Amazon, you can find a pot like this for about 35 euros.

Tsukemono: A Surprising Side Effect

As we already mentioned, Tsukemono are not only delicious but also quite healthy. But they have another advantage. Some varieties, such as Umeboshi, are antibacterial. That’s why they’re often put into bento boxes (Japanese lunchboxes), so the food stays fresh for several days even without a refrigerator!