A recipe for spicy Japanese pickles.

My lovely assistant has been giving me many vegetables from her garden and many of these are cucumbers. My husband doesn't like them raw in salads so I decided to make this pickle recipe as it perfect as a side dish with rice and meat.   Oh and I should mention that you fry these!

This recipe uses Japanese pickles which are different from the cucumbers I ate in Canada. I have no idea how these would taste if you tried to make them with other cucumbers but if you have or can get some Japanese ones and you like pickles give this recipe a try!

The official name for these is:

culi no karamitzuke (culi means cucumber and kara means spicy)

What you will need:

Japanese cucumbers - 2 big or 3 long

fresh ginger minced fine- 2 Tbsp

Japanese rice vinegar - 6 Tbsp

white sugar- 2 Tbsp

Salt-a little

chili pepper - 1/2 (I used dry chili pepper flakes- I didn't measure)

soy sauce - a little

oil-1Tbsp  ***(for an alternative-I suggest using sesame oil-tastes amazing!)

1) Cut cucumbers in 1/2 lengthwise then cut into quarters. Put them in a bowl and add some salt. Let sit for about 30 minutes then squeeze out water.

2) Add 1 Tbsp oil to a frying pan. Add cucumber, ginger and hot pepper. Fry until cucumbers are completely hot. You aren't looking to brown them. 

3) In a bowl add vinegar, sugar and a bit of soy sauce. Mix well to dissolve the sugar. Add hot cucumbers (scrape out and add the ginger and pepper). 

Let cool and then put in the fridge. I think leaving them over night is best. The next day, taste one and you can always add more sugar, soy sauce or chili pepper. They should be crunchy, sweet, sour and spicy!

Here are some on a plate that  I made years ago when I was studying pottery here in Japan.

I also made some deep fried shrimp. I used almond flour so they are gluten free!  I didn't take any pictures but it is super easy. Clean them and the dip them in a beaten egg. Add a few at a time to a bag that has almond flour in it (you can add spices to the almond flour but as I was going to eat them with cocktail sauce I decided not to). Shake the bag to coat them evenly. When they are all coated, put them in the fridge for a few hours to allow the coating to really stick to the shrimp. Then deep fry them. I made cocktail sauce (ketchup  and horseradish) to go with them. Yum!

 

EDITED TO ADD:  I totally forgot to mention that I sometimes use sesame oil to fry the cucumbers in....it tastes amazing!!