foodstuffs
pickles

Pickles (tsukemono) are preserved food. There are many kinds of pickles in Japan.

Pickled plum (umeboshi) are a kind of pickle which are made by adding salt and red shiso (akajiso – perilla, of the mint family) to plums. They are then dried in large open containers outside under the sun for about 1 week. They are good for your health because they contain a lot of protein, iron, vitamins, etc. Also, because they suppress microbes they are often put in box lunches and in rice balls. Because they have a lot of citric acid, they promote the secretion of saliva, which helps one recover from fatigue. There is a box lunch called “hinomaru bento” which consists of rice with one pickled plum (umeboshi) in the center. It resembles “Hinomaru” which is the name for the Japanese flag.

Red pickled ginger (beni-shōga) are pickles which have been pickled in umezu (salted plum juice). We serve them with Japanese-style pancakes (okonomi-yaki, negi-yaki), fried noodles (yaki-soba), sushi and so on.

Takuan is soaked in dried radish, rice bran and nuts of gardenia, and is laid a weight on top of the radish mixture. Takuan is the chief priest's name of one Buddhist temple who lived from 1573 to 1646. It is said that because he produced this tsukemono or spread it, it was named takuan.

Asa-zuke is a vegetable which has been pickled with salt and dried sea tangle (konbu)or has been soaked in pickle seasoning. Because pickle seasoning is sold at stores, asa-zuke can be made easily at home. Vegetables often used for asa-zuke are napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage), cucumber, cabbage, radish and eggplant.

Kimchi (Japanese spelling kimuchi) is a Korean food. It has a very spicy taste because the napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage) is fermented with red chili peppers. It is very popular in Japan, but is not as spicy as Korean kimchi.