Tsukemono
(Konomono, 漬物)
Thinly sliced Japanese pickles collectively called tsukemono (lit. pickled things) are an indispensable part of almost every washoku, a traditional Japanese meal. Tsukemono can be served as an accompaniment or garnish for meals, but it can also be served with rice as an okazu (side dish), with drinks as an otsumami (snack), or even as a part of chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony.
These pickles of various colors and shapes are made from many different preserved fruits and vegetables; the most popular include daikon radish, aubergine, cucumbers, sour plums, turnips, carrots, gobo root, nappa cabbage, ginger, and shiso buds. Even though they can easily be prepared at home, Japanese pickles are available for purchase in most Asian grocery stores, and depending on the type of preservation, tsukemono comes in countless varieties and regional specialties.
Some of the most popular are salt-pickled shiozuke, the simplest and easiest tsukemono to prepare; suzuke pickles brined in Japanese rice vinegar; the sweet and salty shoyuzuke tsukemono pickled in soy sauce which is usually combined with vinegar and sugar; and misozuke pickles cultured in miso paste seasoned with mirin, garlic, and ginger. Read more
There is also fukujinzuke, a crunchy chutney-like seven pickle relish cured in soy sauce that is commonly served as a garnish for Japanese curry; and nukazuke, one of the most complicated tsukemono pickled in rice bran - the hard outer layers of rice which are roasted and mixed with salt, kombu seaweed, and water to make a mash called nukamiso or nukadoko.
Apart from providing nutritional and health benefits of lactic-acid fermentation, the tangy bits of tsukemono serve an important purpose of cleansing the palate during a meal, lend refreshing tartness to counter the heaviness of umami-rich foods, and bring color, texture, and fragrance to a meal, which is why tsukemono is sometimes also called konomono (lit. fragrant things).
