Another Winning Recipe! This Is An Easy And Healthy Idea For Vegetable Side Dish In A Personal Tone:
If you’re looking for a tasty way to get more vegetables into your diet, you need to look no further than this simple, easy-to-make dish that can be made.
Your vegetable side dish doesn’t have to be a hassle. Enjoy the benefits of pickles with shio koji!
Why KOJI Zuke Has The Full Of Umami Flavor
Japanese pickles called “TSUKEMONO” are one of the soul food of the Japanese.
SHIO KOJI ZUKE has been attending for its rich Umami and nutritious value among TUSKEMONO.
The secret key is in the “enzyme” and “lactic acid bacteria” brought by shio koji.
ENZYME
The enzymes produced by shio koji break down the fibers, sugars, and starches in vegetables and transform them into umami, making pickled vegetables extremely delicious.
LACTIC ACID BACTERIA
Shio koji enhance lactic acid bacteria growing quickly that make pickles delicious, so you can make Koji zuke pickles full of rich flavor in a short time.
The koji mold itself has the effect of promoting the growth of lactic acid bacteria, which increases the growth of lactic acid bacteria in vegetables.
Kojizuke pickles are one of the excellent “overnight tsukemono” that can be quickly delicious because of the koji mold.
Tenderize The Meat With Koji
Since the shio koji breaks down the fibers and sugar while producing full of umami flavor such as amino, it is also popular as the tenderizer for meat.
2 Ways To Remove Moisture From Veggies
Removing moisture from vegetables that you want to make TSUKEMONO Japanese pickles is essential to making tasty TSUKEMONO, outside of ASAZUKE.
By removing the moisture from veggies,
- they get crunchy and become delicious TSUKEMONO with rich flavor.
There are two ways to remove the moisture,
- Use salt
- Dry vegetables
Use Salt To Remove The Moisture
Simply, sprinkle 1.5% salt on the total weight of vegetables.
Let it sit for 10 minutes, and squeeze the moisture out with your hands.
How To Draw Excess Water From Vegetables
Ingredients
- Your Choice of vegetables, Sliced, Julienne, shredded
- 1.5 % sea slat of the total weight of vegetables
Instructions
- Combine vegetables and salt well in a bowl.
- Let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Squeeze a handful of vegetables with your hands. Repeat this for the rest of the vegetables.
- Taste the vegetable. If you feel salty, rinse and drain to remove saltiness.
Notes
Make Semi-Dried Vegetables
By drying vegetables in the sun for a few hours to a half day, they will turn to be delicious TSUKEMONO with a unique crunchy texture.
How To Make Semi-Dried Cucumber
Equipment
- 1 hanging mesh dryer rack *1)
- 1-3 baboo baskets *2)
Ingredients
- Cucumbers,washed
Instructions
- Slice them into 1/2 inch thick.
- Spread them in a single layer on a basket/ a mesh dryer rack. Allows air to flow around the piece.
- Begin to expose the vegetables from the day starts!
- Dry them for ideally 7-8 hours. *In the strong direct sun, they should be done for 2-3 hours.
Notes
- Herb Drying Rack Net 4 Layer Herb Dryer White Mesh Hanging Dryer Rack with Zipper 31.5”×24″
- Mesh Fruit Basket with Cover
To learn about drying vegetables, please check out this post!
Make Shio Koji
Shio koji is a traditional Japanese fermented condiment, which is often used for marinating and tenderizing while enhancing the umami flavor in foods, or simply used as a substitute for salt or soy sauce.
Besides, fermented food can’t be missed for a healthy lifestyle- Eating fermented foods is not only tasty but can contribute to overall health.
Check out this post for more Shio koji guides and also to make homemade Shio-koji.
You can make homemade Shio Koji from scratch, actually, it’s easy to make, or you get a shio koji product on Amazon, or at popular oriental grocery stores.
How To Make Shio Koji ZUKE PICKLES
Let’s make pickles using shio koji and vegetables.
It’s perfect for using up the veggies leftovers refrigerator. Once you make koji zuke pickles, they can be stored for 3-4 days in the fridge.
Since the shio koji makes the pickles a little sweeter, you can drizzle a little soy sauce or roasted sesame oil when serving.
You can also make a Japanese-style salad by mixing fragrantly grilled tofu and leafy greens.
It’s gonna be a super healthy salad with enzymes produced by fresh vegetables and shio koji.
TIPS
Remove the air from the bag as much as you can.
If you use root vegetables and leafy vegetables together, cut root vegetables thinly so that the flavor goes evenly.
Add yogurt, the yogurt’s lactic acid bacteria brings even more umami flavor.
Pickled Cucumber And Carrots with Shio Koji
Ingredients
- ½ lb cucumber, chopped
- ½ lb carrots, sliced thickly
- 2 tbsp Shio koji *1)
- 1-2 sliced ginger *optionally
Instructions
- Make Shio koji from scratch if desired. *How to make shio koji
- Make semi-dried cucumber and carrots. For the recipe, read this post.
- In a food storage bag, place the semi-dried vegetables and shio-koji.
- Combine them well while massaging gently them on the bag. Remove excess air and seal tightly.
- Refrigerate them overnight.
- It'll be stored for 3-4 days in the fridge.
- You can drizzle soy sauce, Layu, or roasted sesame oil on shio koji zuke pickles if desired.
