[Japanese Recipes] Pickled Cucumbers and Ginger

Pickling is such a great invention. It’s one of the most practical ways to inject flavor in fruits and vegetables, and turn them into super condiments! I pickle them! Pickled Cucumbers and Ginger is  so easy and the result is so gratifying! If you eat a lot of rice like we do here chez les Phelps, having a supply of ready to eat pickles stacked up in the back of the fridge is sort of a necessity. But I must admit there are times when I forget to restock our supply and that’s when I go looking for a quick pickling recipe. Whenever this happens I always rely on cucumbers because they pickle so fast! You can have pickled cucumbers ready in less than 30 minutes – though I prefer to let them marinate for a little longer to soften their texture.

Pickled cucumbers and ginger (kyuri to shoga no tsukemono) is a common dish in Japanese cuisine that acts more as an accompaniment or garnish for meals. It’s served in a small bowl and meant to be enjoyed with a beer or eaten together with rice. I often make pickled cucumbers because it is such a straight forward technique: slice cucumber in half, spoon out the seeds, mix all the pickling ingredients together and add to a Ziploc Bag along with the cucumbers. Let the cucumbers and ginger pickle for about two hours, make some Japanese rice (I use Nishiki) and eat!

Another reason why I love pickles so much is that they are packed with antioxidants and are gut friendly. The probiotic bacteria found in pickles help us in the digestion of food and can protect against microbial infection. They can be very healthy when eaten in moderation (since pickles can be very high in sodium).

I like eating pickled cucumbers and ginger with a side of plain white rice, together with chicken katsu,yaki udon or a savory miso curry.

PICKLED CUCUMBERS AND GINGER (JAPANESE STYLE)


PREP TIME: 5 mins
TOTAL TIME: 5 mins

This is a very quick and easy recipe for Japanese style pickled cucumbers with ginger. Prep time is only 5 minutes and the cucumber pickles are ready in less than 2 hours!

Author: Pickled Plum - Caroline Phelps
Recipe type: Side, Condiment
Cuisine: Japanese
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

1 English cucumber
1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into strips
⅓ cup soy sauce
⅓ cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp granulated sugar
¼ tsp toasted sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Slice cucumber in half lengthwise and scrape off the seeds with a spoon. Slice cucumber into bite size strips.
Put soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and toasted sesame oil in a bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved.
Put cucumber and ginger in a ziploc bag and pour vinegar mix on top. Removed air before sealing the bag. Once sealed, lightly massage the cucumber and ginger, making sure the pickling liquid evenly coats all the vegetables.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and for no more than 12. Drain pickling vinegar and keep the cucumber and ginger pickles in the fridge.
Serve with rice.

NOTES

These pickled cucumbers and ginger will keep in the fridge for about a week.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving size: 4 Calories: 63 Fat: 0.4 Saturated fat: 0Carbohydrates: 11.2 Sugar: 8.7 Sodium: 1040 Fiber: 0.5Protein: 1.6 Cholesterol: 0

This recipe and images sources are referred in website: Pickledplum.com. Thanks so much!