Re: Nukazuke Update

[Guest guest]

i kept a nukamiso toko for 3 years. Incredible pickles from this mix,

especially small turnips and cucumbers. Then i went on tour and a

friend did not care for it and it molded out. I should start up a new

one as i miss that flavor!

phil

Philip Gelb

vegetarian chef

shakuhachi player, teacher

phil@...

http://philipgelb.com

http://myspace.com/inthemoodforfood

http://myspace.com/philipgelb

http://www.yelp.com/biz/in-the-mood-for-food-oakland

On Jul 7, 2008, at 8:06 PM, Isao Haraguchi wrote:

> This year,the rain season is already over and it was very short.

> Heat season is here.

>

> I am busy with zuccini and they are very fine ( a quiet revenge and

> improvement from last year zuccini discussion. ;-)

> This summer I will focus to pickle veges at unripened stage.

> Most veges sold at the shop are nearly ripen or already.

> It is OK with it, but not proper for nukazuke or pickling.

>

> Just slightly prior to the matured state or rather very young.

> Crisp,crunchy and greeny.

> it is better fruit sugar content is lower if it is for pickling.

>

> This summer is going to be another hot one.

> So get prepared with VitC and citric acids from young veges.

> Try all young veges.

>

> PS. This year in Japan, Nukazuke is a quiet boom.

> It is free pet and nutritious.

> I think this boom is due to social and economic depression.

> Turn off TV news and munch NUKED CUKE for relief. :-)

>

> Have a pleasant summer.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello Isao,

Do you let the young vegetables " wilt " before pickling? Some traditional

Japanese recipes for pickling daikon radish with rice bran and sea salt,

is to leave the whole vegetable [with leaves left on the roots], to

partially dry in the shade for a few days, so they wilt and go a little

soft [can easily bend without snapping]. The wilted roots are picked

with rice bran and sea salt pressed in vats. Have you used this method

with whole zucchini and other similar vegetables? I've used such methods

with good results, and am interested in other folks' experiences. Old

German methods for sauerkraut also suggest to wilt whole cabbage for a

few days before salting and pressing in a vat. One would think that the

end product would be mushy, where in fact the pickles are quite crispy.

There would be some Vitamin A and C reduction due to wilting. Some folks

suggest that the pickling process creates a form of Vit C which is

bio-activated through cooking the pickle, such as Polish or German

sauerkraut cooked with home made Bratwurst, Knackwurst, or *Mettwurst*

[traditional sausage-- or spicy salt-pickled raw meat].

The weather worldwide is effected by climate change. We are hoping to

get sufficient rain in Australia over the next weeks. Over the last 2

days things appear to look good, while forecast is promising more rain

that is essential for our crops, much of the produce of which will

reach Japan including other countries. You too have a great summer.

Be-well,

Dom

Isao Haraguchi typed:

> This year,the rain season is already over and it was very short.

> Heat season is here.

>

> I am busy with zuccini and they are very fine ( a quiet revenge and

> improvement from last year zuccini discussion. ;-)

> This summer I will focus to pickle veges at unripened stage.

> Most veges sold at the shop are nearly ripen or already.

> It is OK with it, but not proper for nukazuke or pickling.

>

> Just slightly prior to the matured state or rather very young.

> Crisp,crunchy and greeny.

> it is better fruit sugar content is lower if it is for pickling.

>

> This summer is going to be another hot one.

> So get prepared with VitC and citric acids from young veges.

> Try all young veges.

>

> PS. This year in Japan, Nukazuke is a quiet boom.

> It is free pet and nutritious.

> I think this boom is due to social and economic depression.

> Turn off TV news and munch NUKED CUKE for relief. :-)

>

> Have a pleasant summer.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Konichiwa Isao,

Do you know how to make those wonderful Ice Kyuri cucumbers pickled in

seaweed flavored ice water? I had one on the road from the Ohara bus

stop to the Sanzen-in temple and it was so delicious, I keep wishing I

could have them now, back here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. So much in

fact, that I bought seeds for a Japanese cucumber that is just coming

up now (slow growing season to get going here at 7000 feet altitude).

Would love to get a recipe and method. I love Japanese pickles!

Thanks,

On Jul 7, 2008, at 9:06 PM, Isao Haraguchi wrote:

> This year,the rain season is already over and it was very short.

> Heat season is here.

>

> I am busy with zuccini and they are very fine ( a quiet revenge and

> improvement from last year zuccini discussion. ;-)

> This summer I will focus to pickle veges at unripened stage.

> Most veges sold at the shop are nearly ripen or already.

> It is OK with it, but not proper for nukazuke or pickling.

>

> Just slightly prior to the matured state or rather very young.

> Crisp,crunchy and greeny.

> it is better fruit sugar content is lower if it is for pickling.

>

> This summer is going to be another hot one.

> So get prepared with VitC and citric acids from young veges.

> Try all young veges.

>

> PS. This year in Japan, Nukazuke is a quiet boom.

> It is free pet and nutritious.

> I think this boom is due to social and economic depression.

> Turn off TV news and munch NUKED CUKE for relief. :-)

>

> Have a pleasant summer.

[Guest guest]

Hello,.

Small Turnips are fine idea.

Sliced ginger roots and MYOUGA stems seem good to stimulate brain.

Young Bell peppers and chilli peppers are my challenge of the week.

What will you " play and improvise " in your nukadoko this time ?

take care,

isao

[Guest guest]

Hello Dom,

It is nice to know that you produce grains.

Yes,I will do " wilt " veges with salt. And leave them for a while to

dehydrate, for water to come out. They drip some water. So you wipe

them out with kitchen towl. And bury those veges into nukadoko laid

in order.

Taking off water in nukadoko is a good manner to maintain good nuka

fermentation.

Wilting in cool air is a good idea,if you have a time to do so for a

few hours. Nukazuke through nukadoko(fermented bran pot) is a small

scale fermentation and made in a short time.

I splited zucchini with other cukes and daikon in half and trimed in

style and sprinkled salt and left on a dish for 30 minutes. Wipe out

water and salt roughly and buried them in order.

Will you join us with veges at your garden ?

[Guest guest]

Hello,

Ice kyuri. I did not know what you were talking until I see

http://www.shibakyu.jp/ice_q.html .

The base ,as they say, is white soy sauce, konbu, chilli pepper.

Amazingly they sell 2000-3000 sticks of ice kyuri a day?

One for your kyuri crop. This is not a recipe but a " manner " to enjoy

cool kyuri.

Instead of throwing to the refregerator, bathe in well water.

Or rock ice into water and cool them in it.

A pinch of salt. It taste better and cooler!

If you can get seeds, get AKA-SHISO and AO-SHISO mint leaves.

It will away expand your pickles menu.

Especially Aka shiso. Minty flavor of shiso canbe used in many way.

Umeboshi can not be made without it.

take care,

isao

[Guest guest]

Hi Isao,

Yes, great photos, there is another a picture of them here for anyone

who wants to know what we're talking about:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3932.html

They are worth going to Ohara for! I'm not surprised they sell that

much of it, there was such a crowd of tourists and I think it was one

of the most refreshing things on the walk to the temple. I also liked

a grilled mochi with a sweet-salty glaze. One of the fun things about

traveling in Japan, for our other readers here, is that there are

regional specialties that you can only get where they are made locally

so people make it a point to bring back these things to share with

friends and family.

Thanks for letting me know about the ingredients. I'm not familiar

with white soy sauce, I will have to try to find some. I will

probably have to order it.

My kyuri is finally coming up and I have some shiso seeds planted -

I'm not sure what type, I don't have the packet in front of me. I

will look for these seeds you mention though for next year. I have

mitsuba coming up too.

Here are just a

On Jul 12, 2008, at 8:31 AM, Isao Haraguchi wrote:

> Hello,

>

> Ice kyuri. I did not know what you were talking until I see

> http://www.shibakyu.jp/ice_q.html .

> The base ,as they say, is white soy sauce, konbu, chilli pepper.

> Amazingly they sell 2000-3000 sticks of ice kyuri a day?

>

> One for your kyuri crop. This is not a recipe but a " manner " to enjoy

> cool kyuri.

> Instead of throwing to the refregerator, bathe in well water.

> Or rock ice into water and cool them in it.

> A pinch of salt. It taste better and cooler!

> If you can get seeds, get AKA-SHISO and AO-SHISO mint leaves.

> It will away expand your pickles menu.

> Especially Aka shiso. Minty flavor of shiso can be used in many way.

> Umeboshi can not be made without it.

>

> take care,

> isao

[Guest guest]

Hi Isao,

Yes, great photos, there is another a picture of them here for anyone

who wants to know what we're talking about:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3932.html

and from your photos:

http://www.shibakyu.jp/cgi-bin/shop/goods_detail.cgi?CategoryID=000003 & GoodsID=0\

0000076

They are worth going to Ohara for! I'm not surprised they sell that

much of it, there was such a crowd of tourists and I think it was one

of the most refreshing things on the walk to and from the temple. I

also liked a grilled mochi with a sweet-salty glaze. One of the fun

things about traveling in Japan, for our other readers here, is that

there are regional specialties that you can only get where they are

made locally so people make it a point to bring back these things to

share with friends and family.

Thanks for letting me know about the ingredients. I'm not familiar

with white soy sauce, I will have to try to find some. I will

probably have to order it, I only have nama shoyu in the house as it

is our favorite. I do have konbu though and lots of different kinds

of chillies - which are a regional specialty of New Mexico.

My kyuri is finally coming up and I have some shiso seeds planted -

I'm not sure what type, I don't have the packet in front of me. I

will look for these seeds you mention though for next year. I have

mitsuba coming up too. Thanks for the ideas on the kyuri too, I'm

looking forward to trying them.

Best to you,

Here are just a few pictures from my trip to Japan, there are some

from Ohara in the 2nd album:

http://homepage.mac.com/christinecassidy/Menu15.html

On Jul 12, 2008, at 8:31 AM, Isao Haraguchi wrote:

> Hello,

>

> Ice kyuri. I did not know what you were talking until I see

> http://www.shibakyu.jp/ice_q.html .

> The base ,as they say, is white soy sauce, konbu, chilli pepper.

> Amazingly they sell 2000-3000 sticks of ice kyuri a day?

>

> One for your kyuri crop. This is not a recipe but a " manner " to enjoy

> cool kyuri.

> Instead of throwing to the refregerator, bathe in well water.

> Or rock ice into water and cool them in it.

> A pinch of salt. It taste better and cooler!

> If you can get seeds, get AKA-SHISO and AO-SHISO mint leaves.

> It will away expand your pickles menu.

> Especially Aka shiso. Minty flavor of shiso can be used in many way.

> Umeboshi can not be made without it.

>

> take care,

> isao

[Guest guest]

Hello and Isao,

It's been a few months since I've been on the list, and I want to thank

you for sharing those wonderful photos of you travels in

Japan. So well presented and I learned so much, found all the material

of great interest, including my Wife who shares similar interests

in natural fibers and natural fabric dying etc.

I'm sowing an Italian variety of cucumber, from a particular area of

Italy, Abruzzo. This variety would make wonderful Ice cucumber pickles

[kyuri], I'd say. It is a very crispy cucumber, with a very small seed

cavity, it consists mostly of the crunchy part of a common cucumber

right through. The skin is slightly hairy, with an irregular shape, much

like a blunt 8 or so pointed star when cut.

Thanks to Isao for the cold kyuri recipe. I'll try it with the Italian

variety of cucumber when its time to harvest in about 3 months. Since

tasting cold kyuri in a local Asian market, I've wanted to try my hand

at making it myself. Now is my chance! I let you kind folks know how it

turns out.

Isao, if you see this, In your reply to my post in this thread, you

asked if I would like to contribute my garden efforts. My answer is yes.

Thanks again guys.

Be-well,

Dom

C wrote:

> Hi Isao,

>

> Yes, great photos, there is another a picture of them here for anyone

> who wants to know what we're talking about:

> http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3932.html

> and from your photos:

http://www.shibakyu.jp/cgi-bin/shop/goods_detail.cgi?CategoryID=000003 & GoodsID=0\

0000076

>

> They are worth going to Ohara for! I'm not surprised they sell that

> much of it, there was such a crowd of tourists and I think it was one

> of the most refreshing things on the walk to and from the temple. I

> also liked a grilled mochi with a sweet-salty glaze. One of the fun

> things about traveling in Japan, for our other readers here, is that

> there are regional specialties that you can only get where they are

> made locally so people make it a point to bring back these things to

> share with friends and family.

>

> Thanks for letting me know about the ingredients. I'm not familiar

> with white soy sauce, I will have to try to find some. I will

> probably have to order it, I only have nama shoyu in the house as it

> is our favorite. I do have konbu though and lots of different kinds

> of chillies - which are a regional specialty of New Mexico.

>

> My kyuri is finally coming up and I have some shiso seeds planted -

> I'm not sure what type, I don't have the packet in front of me. I

> will look for these seeds you mention though for next year. I have

> mitsuba coming up too. Thanks for the ideas on the kyuri too, I'm

> looking forward to trying them.

>

> Best to you,

>

>

> Here are just a few pictures from my trip to Japan, there are some

> from Ohara in the 2nd album:

> http://homepage.mac.com/christinecassidy/Menu15.html

>

>

>

>

>

> On Jul 12, 2008, at 8:31 AM, Isao Haraguchi wrote:

>

>> Hello,

>>

>> Ice kyuri. I did not know what you were talking until I see

>> http://www.shibakyu.jp/ice_q.html .

>> The base ,as they say, is white soy sauce, konbu, chilli pepper.

>> Amazingly they sell 2000-3000 sticks of ice kyuri a day?

>>

>> One for your kyuri crop. This is not a recipe but a " manner " to enjoy

>> cool kyuri.

>> Instead of throwing to the refregerator, bathe in well water.

>> Or rock ice into water and cool them in it.

>> A pinch of salt. It taste better and cooler!

>> If you can get seeds, get AKA-SHISO and AO-SHISO mint leaves.

>> It will away expand your pickles menu.

>> Especially Aka shiso. Minty flavor of shiso can be used in many way.

>> Umeboshi can not be made without it.

>>

>> take care,

>> isao