Asazuke

Asazuke is a Japanese pickling method with a very short preparation time, in which vegetables are pickled in a few hours. The term also refers to the vegetables pickled this way, and it is a subcategory of tsukemono, the general family of Japanese pickles.

History

The name means roughly "shallow pickle" and points to its defining idea: a food prepared in the morning and ready by evening. Compared with slow pickling methods that take weeks or months, asazuke is eaten almost straight away.

It became a very popular way of pickling in Japanese homes largely because it is so easy to make. Over time it spread as an everyday way to use fresh vegetables without special equipment or long waiting times.

Culture

In Japanese meals asazuke is a light accompaniment to rice and soup. It is made with daikon, hakusai, cucumber or eggplant, and also with variants such as kimuchi, a milder cabbage version related to Korean kimchi. Because it is so quick, it is one of the most common pickles made at home, and in Japan's commercial pickle production it ranks second only to kimchi.