Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Recipe: Pickled Japanese cucumber (kyuri asazuke)

When it comes to cucumbers, we prefer kyuri (Japanese cucumbers) over any other variety since they have less seeds (ie burpless cucumbers). The skin is thin, hence we usually eat everything... no wastage. I don't really like eating raw cucumber on its own but I LOVE pickled cucumbers.


Asazuke is a Japanese pickling method characterized by its short preparation time. This pickled cucumber recipe is very simple - it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare (cut) and you just need to marinate it for a minimum of 40 minutes. We love having it as a side dish to our dinner, especially if we're having oily or fatty food. Plus it's very appetizing and has a lovely crunchy texture as well as retaining the fresh taste of the vegetable!



An accompaniment to our rice topped with sesame seeds, Japanese nori seaweed and masago/tobiko. :) 



Pickled cucumber (kyuri)
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 Japanese cucumber (kyuri), washed
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp white vinegar


1. You can either peel the skin off the cucumber or leave them on (depending on personal preference). Most of the time we leave the skin on and then cut them into 2cm chunks and quarter them.

2. If you're peeling them, you can also follow the above method, and quarter them. Or another nice way of serving them are as "cucumber ribbons". Firstly, peel the skin off the cucumber. Use the peeler to peel long strips.Get as close as you can get to the centre but discard the seeds.


Cucumber ribbons


3. Place the cucumber in a bowl and marinate with the salt and sugar for 30 minutes.

4. Quickly rinse with water twice and drain well.

4. Add the white vinegar and mix well. Leave for 10 mins and it is ready to serve. Alternatively, this can be kept in a container and stored in the refridgerator.






Kyuri asazuke

Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here. 

18 comments:

  1. I like the Malay ones - with pineapple, chili...

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  2. a simple and appetizing side dish which you can prepare with minimum fuss! definitely easier to make than acar thats for sure :)

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    1. Yeah, I saw a recipe for Nyonya acar before and gosh so much work involved! May try the Indonesian acar since it looks slightly less complicated.

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  3. I love to eat pickled cucumber too especially during summer :D This recipe is nice and easy.

    I've announced today that we are partners in Cook like a Star in Sep. Can't wait to fire up our woks and whipping our whisks! Cheers!

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    1. Thanks Zoe! I will be posting something on the event by this weekend. Been super busy the last few days baking cakes and all for the kids.

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  4. I always order it when I go to a Japanese restaurant. A good way to open up my appetite for the night =)

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    1. Hehe I saw it in your post yesterday. We love it too, can finish the whole (two cucumber) portion in one seating.

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  5. I like to eat raw cucumber.
    I remember when I was young, we used to eat the raw cucumber with sour plum! :D

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    1. Ooooo now that you mention it, I've seen lots of cucumber drinks with sour plum before. Must be quite cooling and refreshing!

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  6. are you kidding me? I love raw cucumbers.. i eat everyything! LOL. the pickles ones.. so-so.. only like it in my bento! hehe Great shots btw.

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    1. Hehe I also dunno why I dont like raw cucumbers la. Even if u just rub a bit of salt on it, then it will automatically taste better to me already.

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  7. ooo, i'm not a fan of raw cucumbers either. it reminds me of my childhood though, cos my grandfather LOVES/loved raw cucumber, and he'd always keep several cucumbers in the fridge and eat at least half a cucumber for every meal. he said it was refreshing and healthy =)

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    1. At least I'll eat some of the raw Japanese cucumbers but not the English ones cos they have too much seeds. Whenever I eat chicken rice nowadays, I always pick out the raw cucumbers Haha!

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  8. I prefer Japanese cucumbers too! These pickles look very appetising.

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