Shiso and ume give flavor in Japanese pickle recipe

Shibazuke is a member of the tsukemono clan of Japanese pickled vegetables. Although it is made with cucumbers and eggplant, its closest relation is umeboshi, the tart pink pickled plum that is the heart of a true musubi.

The two share a kindred ingredient: shiso, a leaf that provides their distinctive flavor.

Janet Tamura wrote for a recipe that would provide a reasonable facsimile to the store-bought version.

The traditional way to make these pickles would be in a simple brine of water and salt, counting on the natural process of lacto-fermentation: The salt kills harmful bacteria, then natural sugars in the vegetables convert into lactic acid, which gives the pickles tang and preserves them. These days most recipes hurry this process along with the addition of vinegar.

The process takes several days, and unless you have a pickle press, you’ll need to cobble together a pickling apparatus. This can be as simple as two bowls of the right sizes. Your salted vegetables go into one nonreactive container (a glass bowl, a large jar, the crock from a slow cooker …). A second container, slightly smaller, goes on top of the vegetables with a weight inside it (a couple of cans of beans, a bag filled with rice, a bottle of water …).

The idea is to press firmly on the vegetables and squeeze out the water that the salt will draw from them. Then you drain well, add your seasonings and let everything set for a spell. After a few days: pickles!

Some recipes call for sugar but I like mine without. For a sweeter pickle, dissolve a few tablespoons of sugar in the mirin-vinegar mix before adding it to the vegetables.

The key flavoring in shibazuke is shiso, or perilla leaves. Some Asian markets sell green shiso, but you’ll need to hunt down a bag of purple or red leaves. Farmers markets are the best sources.

This recipe also uses the brine from a jar of ume to boost the flavor. Ume vinegar (also called ume su, umeboshi vinegar or plum vinegar) could be used instead, replacing the rice vinegar and ume brine.

Another note: Myoga, a pink ginger bud, is often used in shibazuke. I tried it in my first batch, but it didn’t seem to add much. When I made my second, myoga was nowhere to be found, so I’ve left it out here. If you like, add two buds, sliced very fine, to the initial salting step.

SHIBAZUKE

» 1 pound Japanese eggplant
» 1 pound Japanese cucumber
» 4 teaspoons salt, divided
» 30 purple shiso leaves (also called akajiso, red perilla or beefsteak leaves)
» 1 teaspoon minced or grated ginger
» 1/4 cup mirin
» 1/4 cup rice vinegar
» 1/4 cup ume brine (from jar of Japanese pickled plums)

Trim eggplant and cucumber (no need to peel); cut in half lengthwise. Remove seeds from cucumber. Cut eggplant and cucumber into thin slices on diagonal, about 1 inch long. Soak eggplant slices in water about 30 minutes to remove bitterness. Drain.

Place eggplant and cucumber slices in nonreactive bowl; sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and mix well. Top with another bowl and add a weight to keep vegetables firmly pressed down (or use a pickle press). Let sit overnight on counter to squeeze water from vegetables.

Drain vegetables and squeeze by hand to remove even more water. Return to bowl. Discard all liquid.

Mix shiso leaves with remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Rub salt into leaves by hand until leaves shrivel and start to give up liquid. Do not rinse. Mix leaves with eggplant and cucumber slices; toss with ginger. Add mirin, vinegar and ume juice. Mix, then replace weighted bowl. Let sit on counter 2 days, stirring occasionally. Vegetables will soften and take on a pink tinge.

Place in jars with liquid, close tightly and refrigerate. If liquid does not cover vegetables, stir occasionally. Will be ready to eat in about a week. Makes about 1 pint.

Nutritional information unavailable.

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