Fukujinzuke (Japanese Pickles for Curry)

Name: Fukujinzuke (Japanese Pickles for Curry)
Yield: 2 cups
Cuisine: Asia, Japanese
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

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated November/December 2023

These bright, punchy pickles are a typical topping for Kare Raisu (Japanese Curry Rice with Chicken), bringing balance to the warm, savory stew.

SERVES2 cups

TIME45 minutes, plus 12 hours 20 minutes resting and cooling

Fukujinzuke (Japanese Pickles for Curry)

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,...

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