Japanese Pickled Cucumbers With Ginger

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• There are so many variations of Japanese pickles and this quick pickled cucumber recipe uses soya sauce, rice wine, and mirin in the pickling liquid. 
• There are a few steps to making this Asazuke (fast) pickle, but most of it is waiting for the cucumber to brine and release its moisture. It is worth the wait because you end up with crunchy pickled cucumbers.
• This recipe uses 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) of cucumber, and it keeps well in the fridge.
• These Japanese-style pickles are great for serving at summer picnics, barbeques, or casual gatherings.

Ingredients

Please note that below is a guide for some of the ingredients we used in the recipe. The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

For this recipe, you will need Japanese cucumbers if you can get them because these have few seeds and are not as watery as others.

If not, choose a similar cucumber variety with few seeds like Persian cucumbers, Lebanese cucumbers, English cucumbers, or telegraph cucumbers. 

You will also need:

• fresh ginger goes so well with cucumber
• salt
• soya sauce, use tamari for vegan and gluten free diets. 
• sugar, we used 3 tablespoons, but you can adjust the sweetness to your liking by using less or more.
• rice vinegar
• mirin
• chill flakes (optional)
• toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

There are several steps for making this recipe for Japanese pickled cucumbers.

Step 1 - Trim the ends from the cucumbers and slice them into even 1 cm (0.4 inches) thick pieces, and place them into a large bowl.

Step 2 - Sprinkle the salt over the thinly sliced cucumbers, and mix well to distribute the salt over the pieces.

Step 3 - Place a small plate on the cucumbers and weigh it down with something heavy. The weight will help remove excess moisture from the cucumbers. Let it stand at room temperature for 2 hours.

Step 4 - Grab a handful of cucumbers and squeeze them between your hands to remove as much moisture as possible.

After squeezing the moisture from the cucumber pieces, transfer them to another dry bowl. Repeat the process with the remaining slices. Discard the cucumber water.

Step 5 - Peel the ginger, slice it thin and then slice again into thin matchstick-sized pieces and add to the cucumbers.

Step 6 - Into a small saucepan, add the soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sugar, and chili, bring to a boil, turn off the heat, and pour the hot liquid over the cucumber and mix well. Cool to room temperature.

Step 7 - Place a sieve over a large saucepan and drain the pickling liquid from the cucumbers and into the saucepan.

Step 8 - Return the cucumbers to the bowl. Over medium/high heat, bring the pickling liquid to a boil. Remove from the heat after it has come to a boil, and pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers, mix well, and cool to room temperature.

Step 9 - Stir in the sesame seeds. Transfer the pickle to a container, seal it, and store it in the fridge overnight for the flavors to develop. Store in the fridge for up to seven days.

Recipe Tips

Before picking the cucumbers, remove as much moisture from them as possible if you want crunchy cucumber pieces.

So don't skip the step of squeezing the cucumbers between your hands to remove more moisture. You don't have to be delicate doing this, because the drier you can get the cucumbers, the longer they will stay crunchy.

Serving Size

This recipe serves 15, a serving size is about 66 grams (2.3 ounces).

Calories Per Serve

There are about 42 calories per serve.

Serving Suggestions

Japanese pickles are typically served as part of a meal with rice.

Variations

You can add carrot, daikon, or radish in with the cucumber - just make sure to cut these into matchstick-sized pieces.

Storage

Refrigerator - These refrigerator pickles will keep well in the fridge for up to seven days.

Freezing - Not suitable for freezing.

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