Name: Fukujinzuke (Japanese Pickles for Curry)
Total time: 13 h 5 min
Yield: 2 cups
Cuisine: Japanese, Asia
Ingredients: ½ cup lotus root, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced ⅛ inch thick (2 ounces); 1 cup daikon radish, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced ⅛ inch thick (4½ ounces); 1 cup Persian cucumbers, sliced into ⅛-inch rounds (4½ ounces); ½ cup Japanese eggplant, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced ⅛ inch thick (1¾ ounces); Kosher salt for salting vegetables; 3 shiso leaves, sliced thin (optional); ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar; ¼ cup mirin; ¼ cup water; ¼ cup sugar; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and quartered; 1 shiitake mushroom, stemmed; 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

Why This Recipe Works

To make the pickles, we combined blanched lotus root, daikon, cucumbers, and eggplant, a traditional mix. We kneaded salt into the vegetables to keep them crisp. As the vegetables were being treated, we mixed soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, ginger, and mushroom to make a sweet, umami-rich, and bright pickling liquid that complemented the vegetables. Heating the liquid before pouring it over the food allowed it to penetrate the vegetables faster, so the pickles were ready to eat after an overnight rest. The pickles can be served with curry rice, katsu curry, curry hamburger, oyako don, or gyu don, or simply white rice and a sprinkle of nori or toasted sesame seeds.

Before You Begin

The ginger and mushroom are flavoring agents; they are not meant to be eaten. We highly recommend seeking out lotus root, but if it's unavailable, use additional daikon. If daikon is unavailable, another type of radish can be used.

Instructions

for the vegetables

Bring 2 cups water to boil in small saucepan. Add lotus root and cook until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain lotus root in fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water to cool. Transfer lotus root to medium bowl. Add daikon, cucumbers, and eggplant. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt evenly over vegetables and, using your hands, mix and squeeze vegetables until slightly softened, about 45 seconds. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Transfer vegetables to colander and rinse under cold water to remove salt (rinse out bowl). Squeeze vegetables to remove any excess water and return to bowl. Stir in shiso, if using.

for the pickling liquid

Combine vinegar, mirin, water, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, and mushroom in medium saucepan and bring to boil over high heat. Add vegetables and sesame seeds and cook for 30 seconds. In fine-mesh strainer set over bowl, drain vegetables. Return liquid to saucepan and boil until thickened and slightly syrupy, 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer vegetables to 2-cup canning jar and cover with pickling liquid. Using chopstick or fork, press on vegetables to make sure they are submerged. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 1 week.