Name: Amazuzuke (Quick Vinegar Pickles)
Yield: Makes eight ½-pint mason jars
Ingredients: 2½ pounds (1.2 kg) assorted seasonal vegetables, trimmed and peeled; 6 shiso (perilla) leaves; 3 sprigs each thyme, dill, and parsley; 1½ ounces (40 g) ginger, peeled and sliced; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in halves; 1 teaspoon peppercorns (black or pink) or seeds (cumin, coriander, fennel, or mustard); 4 dried red chiles or 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced crosswise and seeds removed; 2 cups (480 ml) rice vinegar; 2 cups (480 ml) filtered water; 1 piece of kombu, 1 x 6 inches (2.5 x 15 cm), cut into 12 pieces; ½ cup (100 g) cane sugar; 3 tablespoons sea salt; 1 tablespoon julienned orange or lemon peel

Someone ladling pickling liquid over glass jars of colorful vegetables.

Photo by Rick Poon

I have a basic and universal pickling medium—vinegar, water, salt, and sugar—that works with almost any vegetable. It is best to use a hearty vegetable for these pickles, such as cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, okra, radishes, lotus root, red onion, squash, peppers, carrots, and/or cucumbers; leafy greens won’t work well. I serve these pickles like a salad as a side with ramen noodles, gyoza (fried dumplings), or shumai (steamed dumplings), or with a sandwich. I like to add kombu to enhance the umami. Soy sauce also works as a flavor enhancer, especially with cucumbers; simply add a few teaspoons of light-colored soy sauce and a squeeze of lemon to the pickling medium. Spices such as chiles, bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, and ginger also can brighten pickles, but I use them sparingly. If you want sweeter pickles, add a tablespoon or more of cane sugar to the pickling medium.

This recipe was inspired by my chef friend Minh Phan of Porridges and Puffs in Los Angeles, who makes a heavenly rice porridge and accents it with a pinch of her savory jams and, yes, pickles.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes eight ½-pint mason jars

Ingredients

2½ pounds (1.2 kg) assorted seasonal vegetables, trimmed and peeled

6 shiso (perilla) leaves

3 sprigs each thyme, dill, and parsley

1½ ounces (40 g) ginger, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in halves

1 teaspoon peppercorns (black or pink) or seeds (cumin, coriander, fennel, or mustard)

4 dried red chiles or 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced crosswise and seeds removed

2 cups (480 ml) rice vinegar

2 cups (480 ml) filtered water

1 piece of kombu, 1 x 6 inches (2.5 x 15 cm), cut into 12 pieces

½ cup (100 g) cane sugar

3 tablespoons sea salt

1 tablespoon julienned orange or lemon peel

Preparation

Step 1
Sterilize eight ½-pint (240 ml) mason jars.
Step 2
Slice the vegetables into bite-size pieces, about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. If skinny like asparagus and green beans, leave them whole or cut them in half crosswise. Root vegetables should be blanched first for 1 minute in a pot of boiling water and strained before adding to the jars. Pack the vegetables, shiso, thyme, dill, and parsley in the sterilized jars tightly.
Step 3
Combine the ginger, garlic, peppercorns, chiles, rice vinegar, filtered water, kombu, sugar, salt, and citrus peel in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and pour the hot brine over the vegetables in the sterilized jars. Let cool, then seal the jars and refrigerate. You can start eating the pickles after 1 day. The pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Excerpted from Japanese Home Cooking: Simple Meals, Authentic Flavors © 2019 by Sonoko Sakai. Photography © 2019 by Rick Poon. Reproduced by permission of Roost Books. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon.