Add zesty flavor and a warm aroma to your Japanese pickles with this easy recipe for Pickled Cucumbers with Ginger. These quick-pickled tsukemono (漬物) make a refreshing palate cleanser and crunchy side dish in your Japanese meal. They‘re delicious with steamed rice!
Happy 2013! I hope everyone had a nice holiday with your loved ones and I’m back from my little break. Despite catching a cold that I am trying to get rid of, I got to spend time with friends that I don’t get to see often and also had a couple of out-of-town guests stay over at my house, which was really nice.
While I need some time to catch up on my work (please give me a few days to respond to your emails), I hope you enjoy these super quick and easy Japanese Pickled Cucumbers.
Japanese pickles, or we call it Tsukemono (漬物) in Japanese, is a really important part of the Japanese meal. One or a few kinds of pickles are always served with rice and enjoyed as a garnish or palate cleanser.
Unlike western style pickles, Japanese pickles are considered as “preserved vegetables” as they are not primarily preserved in vinegar. They are usually preserved in salt (Shiozuke 塩漬け), rice bran (Nukazue 糠漬け), sake lees (Kasuzuke 粕漬け), soy sauce (Shoyuzuke 醤油漬け), vinegar, (Suzuke 酢漬け), and miso (Misozuke 味噌漬け).
Typically cucumber, Daikon (Japanese radish), eggplant, cabbage, Ume (Japanese plum) are used for Japanese pickles.
Today’s pickles are called Asazuke (浅漬け), literally meaning “shallow pickling”. The vegetables are pickled only for a short time between 30 minutes to a couple of hours and usually not as salty as other kinds of Tsukemono. If you don’t like cucumbers, you can also use napa cabbage (hakusai), daikon, and eggplant for Asazuke as well. I put ginger as seasoning today, but you can also use kombu or chili pepper which are also popular seasoning ingredients.
If you are interested in Japanese pickles, I also have another Pickled Cucumbers recipe and Pickled Turnip with Yuzu recipe. Have a nice week!
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Pickled Cucumbers with Ginger
Ingredients
- 3 Japanese or Persian cucumbers (8.8 oz, 250 g)
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (5 g; 2% of the cucumber weight)
- ½ knob ginger (½ inch, 1.3 cm)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a quick pickling time of 2 hours. Gather all the ingredients.
- Rinse 3 Japanese or Persian cucumbers and cut off both ends.
- Rub the end piece and cut end together until you see the small bubbles. This removes the bitterness from the cucumber. Discard the end pieces.
- Slice the cucumbers.
- Peel ½ knob ginger and cut it into julienne strips.
- Put the sliced cucumbers, 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and ginger strips into a resealable plastic bag.
- Remove the air completely and seal the bag.
- Place a heavy object on top of the bag and refrigerate it for 1–2 hours. Here, I sandwiched the resealable bag with two plates and then put a mortar on top. I recommend 3 hours at most, because otherwise it gets too salty. Check the level of saltiness according to your preference. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the pickles in the refrigerator for 2–3 days. When the flavor is getting strong, remove the solution and store the pickles in an airtight container.
I am so thrilled to hear that you also do the little trick of removing the bitterness from the cucumbers! Everybody does it here in Bangalore and I thought it doesn’t make any sense as all (we never did it while growing up).
We love pickled cucumbers and i have never added ginger to it. Will try doing this next time 🙂
I love nibbling on those, do also have the how to for pickled ginger?
Thanks in advance
Ah we love pickled Japanese cucumbers… our way of making it is slightly different.
Thank you for this recipe. I am looking forward to more tsukemono recipes.
You are welcome! Happy New Year Holly!
Happy New Year Nami! I caught a cold as well! It’s that time of the season 🙁
Looking forward to another year of delicious recipes from you Nami! I will try both types of cucumber pickles for my dinner party on Sunday 🙂
I love the ginger in this recipe. It truly does look refreshing.
Happy New Year Vivi! Hope you and guests will enjoy the pickles! 🙂 Get well soon!
Nami, these sounds delicious and look so fresh and pretty too.
This certainly looks easy! And I really like that you can make pickles, and then be eating them in a couple of hours. And there are lots of good tips in this post. Definitely something I’ll keep in mind – thanks!
Hi Nami! Happy New Year and hope you have a speedy recovery.
This recipe sounds simple and refreshing. Will give it a go!
Oh I love pickled cucumbers! I hope you feel better soon Nami 🙂
Happy New Year to you and your family! Hope you’ll feel better soon and recover from the cold soon. I love pickled cucumbers. Love the flavors in this one. Thanks for sharing and I’ll definitely give these a try.
Originally coming from Northern Europe pickled cucumbers are only too familiar, but, yes, we do prepare them differently 🙂 ! Love the way you reduce bitterness and really have to try this with ginger which I am not used to using!
Thank you Eha! Hope you will like ginger addition! 🙂
I didn’t know it would be so simple to make Japanese pickles. And how perfect that these are ready within half an hour or so. And they look so fresh and vibrant. I didn’t know that was how you could remove the bitter juices. I’ve always scored the outer layer by running a fork from one end to the other and the bitter juices escape that way xx
Happy new year Nami! Tis is nice and simple, perfect after all those feasting! I love pickled cucumbers, with a bit of sesame oil and vinegar.
I love these pickles – they’re so quick to make and of course, cucumbers are one of my favorite sides. Thanks for sharing. This is perfect for healthier eating in the New Year, Nami!
Love the simplicity of this cucumber dish…reminds me of my mom’s recipe.
Happy 2013 and have a great week ahead Nami!