I found some giant cucumbers at the farmers’ market.
Four for 150 yen!
They were too big for salad.
The skin was thick. The seeds were big.
But perfect for pickles.
In Japan there is a famous cucumber pickle called Kyuri no Kyuchan.
Sweet, salty, very crunchy.
Many people grow up eating it.
I don’t try to copy it exactly.
I just make something that reminds me of it.
The best part is opening the fridge the next day
and sneaking one piece before lunch.
Ingredients
1–1.5 kg cucumbers (about 3–5 large cucumbers)
2 tsp salt
20–30 g fresh ginger, thinly sliced
300 ml soy sauce
170 g sugar (adjust to taste)
50 ml vinegar (rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
Instructions
(1) Slice cucumbers into 7–8 mm rounds.
Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
My cucumbers were huge, so I peeled them a little.
If seeds are large, you can remove them.
When you start slicing, it may look like way too many cucumbers.
Don’t worry. They shrink a lot when cooked.
(2) Bring soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar to a boil.
Drain cucumbers. Add cucumbers and ginger to the pot.
I like adding a lot of ginger.
It makes the pickles fresh and a little spicy.
(3) Bring back to a boil, then turn off heat.
Leave until room temperature (about 20–30 minutes).
(4) Remove cucumbers and ginger.
Boil the liquid again.
Then add everything back.
Turn off heat and cool completely.
Store in the fridge.
They taste good right away,but even better the next day.
I like these with rice.
Or just straight from the jar.
It’s a bit of work,
but it’s nice having a jar of these in the fridge for a few days.
I learned from this lovely Cookpad recipe (in Japanese): Original Recipe Here
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