With just a few simple ingredients, you can make this easy recipe for crunchy and refreshing Japanese Pickled Cucumbers. They make a tasty palate cleanser to serve alongside your dinner or lunch meal.
Today I want to share the easy Japanese Pickled Cucumbers (Tsukemono) that you can make at home with ingredients you already have in the kitchen – salt and sugar (and preferably Japanese karashi mustard). There are so many ways to make Japanese pickles and this is just one recipe that we enjoy regularly at our house.
Varieties of Pickles in Japan
Tsukemono (漬物) or Japanese pickles are an essential part of the Japanese diet. They are served typically with a meal, alongside rice and miso soup. Pickles are used as a garnish, relish, or digestive food. It is also considered as a palate-cleansing side dish or we call Hashi Yasume (箸休め), literally meaning “chopstick rest” in Japanese.
Varieties of Tsukemono in Japan
Salt (shiozuke 塩漬け)
The simplest and most common types of pickles with the crisp texture and mild flavor of fresh vegetables. Pickled Japanese plums (umeboshi) used in onigiri (rice ball) are one example of the shiozuke.
Rice Bran (nukazuke 糠漬け)
Whole vegetables are fermented in a mixture of roasted rice bran (the hard outer skin of rice that is removed when polishing the rice grain), salt, kombu, and other ingredients from a day to several months. The pickles are crisp, salty, and tangy.
Sake Lees (kasuzuke 粕漬け)
Pickles preserved in a mixture of sake lees (the yeast mash that is left over after filtering sake), salt, sugar, and mirin ranging from several days to several years. The pickles have a strong alcohol flavor and smell especially when it’s pickled for a long time.
Soy Sauce (shoyuzuke 醤油漬け)
Pickles are preserved in soy sauce-based marinade and have various flavors. Some are light colors with crispy texture while others are dark colors with a salty and sweet taste. Fukujinzuke (relishes served with Japanese curry) is one example of shoyuzuke.
Vinegar (suzuke 酢漬け)
Pickles brined in rice vinegar resulting in a crunchy texture and sweet and sour flavor.
Miso (misozuke 味噌漬け)
Similar to nukazuke, this method uses similar vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, and eggplant. Whole vegetables are covered with miso. The pickles have salty complex miso flavor with a crisp texture.
What Kind of Cucumber to Use for Japanese Pickled Cucumbers
I recommend using Japanese cucumbers or Persian cucumbers to make this pickles recipe.
They’re crunchier and don’t have a lot of seeds in the middle. The cucumbers are best when you pickle them for 1-2 days, but you can certainly pickle for just a few hours. Cool, crisp with a nice crunch, these Japanese pickled cucumbers make a wonderful counterpart to any grilled dishes in the summer. Once you try it, you will be hooked.
If you don’t like cucumbers and prefer other alternatives, you can replace cucumbers with napa cabbage, cabbage, carrot, celery, turnip (kabu in Japanese), and eggplant. Depends on the vegetable, adjust the pickling time to your preferred taste. Choose a vegetable and enjoy making pickles to serve with rice this week.
Other Palate Cleansers
We eat pickles between dishes to change the flavors and textures of dishes and to refresh our palate. Besides pickles, Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), Sunomono (a light salad made with sweet and sour vinaigrette), Aemono (vegetable, meat, or seafood dressed up in some sauce), and Suimono (soup) are also considered Hashi Yasume.
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Japanese Pickled Cucumbers
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (0.4 oz, 10 g)
- 3 Tbsp sugar (1.1 oz, 30 g)
- ½ tsp Japanese karashi hot mustard (0.1 oz, 4 g; optional; you can substitute Chinese mustard powder or Colman’s English mustard that are made from a hot, yellow mustard seed similar to Japanese mustard)
- 3 Japanese or Persian cucumbers (9.2 oz, 261 g)
Instructions
- Combine 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 3 Tbsp sugar, and ½ tsp Japanese karashi hot mustard (optional) in the resealable plastic storage bag and mix well together.
- Cut off ½ inch from the ends of 3 Japanese or Persian cucumbers. Rub them together on the ends to get rid of the bitter taste.
- Put the cucumbers in the bag, squeeze out the air, and seal the bag tightly. Rub the cucumbers well with the mixture. Pickle for a few hours (my preferred taste) or up to 1–2 days in the refrigerator.
To Serve and Store
- When the cucumbers are ready, discard the liquid and slice the cucumber before serving. Store the cucumbers in the refrigerator and consume within 2–3 days after removing from the pickling solution.
How long can you keep them after being pickeled?
Just a few days, I’d say 2-3 days after removing from the pickle solution. 🙂
What do you recommend I use if I don’t have access to Japanese/Persian cucumber?
Hi Shawna! You can use English cucumber but remove seeds with a spoon. 🙂 It gets waterly with the seeds, so they are best to remove removed. Hope you enjoy!
I’ve been using this recipe for a while now – it’s really great and always works. Thanks Nami!
Hi Alex! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi,
Just wondering how long these would keep in the fridge in something like a mason jar. Thanks!
Hi Cathy! These are Asazuke, so no matter what container you use, you won’t be able to keep for more than 2-3 days… 🙂
Can I store these pickles in the fridge to have during the winter? I have a large crop of Kyuri that I would like to preserve.
Hi Ron! These pickles are meant for “quick pickling” or Asazuke, so it’s not meant to keep for a long time. I’m jealous of your large crop of kyuri!!!
[…] To round up the meal, you can always include a side of vegetables and soup with the fried rice. I do not recommend adding vegetables into the chashu fried rice itself as they take away the texture. Instead, you could serve it with a side of blanched broccoli or leafy greens or pickled cucumbers. […]
[…] Pickled Cucumber […]
Do you need to use a special type of cucumber? I live in the Netherlands and I only found dutch cucumbers so far….
Hi Yuna! I’m not sure how Dutch cucumber looks like, but less water is better. Japanese/English/Persian cucumbers are firm and not many seeds in the middle. These are ideal. However, if Dutch cucumber has lots of seeds and watery, remove the seeds area by scooping out with a spoon, and use the rest. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Awesome recipe..as usual saved and posted to my social media accounts..May i ask a favour if possible.??”HOW I CAN PICKLE TURNIP ..CARROTS.. AND CAULIFLOWER..THANKS..
Hi Zouhair! You can use these ingredients in any of pickled recipes. 🙂
hi there, how long do the pickles last in the fridge after you are finished?
Hi Miki! I’d say 2-3 days. This is Asazuke, so I recommend to consume soon. 🙂
Konichiwa Nami,
It’s South Bay Jamie. I hope all is well! If I use this recipe and add rice wine vinegar how long can will it last in the refrigerator?
Matane……
Konnichiwa Jamie! This is a quick pickle, so it should be consumed in 2-3 days. 🙂
There’s no measurements of any liquid!
Hi Taylor! What do you mean by any liquid? We only use salt, sugar, mustard, and cucumbers for this recipe.
Just made this and it came out delicious! How do I make the vinegar version?
Hi Natalie! Happy to hear you liked it. 🙂 I use rice vinegar in this recipe and you can use cucumber instead of daikon. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pickled-daikon/
Thanks for the recipe! Do I need to rinse off the ingredients with water when it’s ready for serve? I mean when taking out of the bag, do I need to rinse with water before cutting?
Hi Denise! No, we do not rinse. You can squeeze gently, but no rinsing. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Where do you find Japanese mustard? Can you use English cucumbers?
Hi Mari! I live about 15 minutes away from a Japanese grocery store and they have one brand of karashi (Japanese mustard). You can buy online too:
http://amzn.to/2cEr5Jj
Yes, you can use English cucumbers, but if the seeds are too much or watery, you might want to remove the seeds with spoon or knife after cutting in half lengthwise.