These savory-and-sweet Japanese Pickled Cucumbers on a Stick (Kyuri Asazuke) are the proper summertime on-a-stick meals! Cooling and refreshingly scrumptious, they’re a preferred road snack discovered at summer season festivals in Japan. Serve these straightforward but cool treats at your bbq cookouts or events!
Should you’re seeking to check out pickling, and Japanese pickling specifically, I’ve a enjoyable and tremendous easy recipe so that you can check out! In the present day’s recipe—Pickled Cucumber on a Stick—goes to show your ample summer season produce into one thing inherently crisp, tangy, cooling, flavorful, and thrilling to eat!
I like that they carry the memory of Japanese summertime nearer to residence. The very best half? It entails only some primary substances, 10 minutes prep time, and a comparatively fast pickling time within the fridge. Simply the proper factor to make and revel in.
What’s a Japanese Cucumber on a Stick?
You may need seen these slender Japanese cucumbers on a wood chopstick bought at Japanese summer festivals. Japanese folks love munching on this wholesome snack whereas looking road distributors and scouting what to eat subsequent. These cucumbers undoubtedly have a nostalgic facet as a lot as these colorful shaved ice and street-style yakisoba. The summer season cucumbers are additional juicy and scrumptious, plus they’re plentiful and economical when they’re in season.
These pickled cucumbers on a stick are thought-about a sort of asazuke, which refers to fast pickles that take just some hours. The ensuing produce(s) are inclined to have a more energizing style and crispier texture.
Cucumbers on a stick bought at road distributors often use commercial-size asazuke pickling resolution and let it pickle in a single day. It tastes nice however you undoubtedly don’t want components and preservatives that go in there.
On this submit, I shared a number of variations of the pickling options, so I hope you attempt them out and see what you want most. Be at liberty to customise if wanted.
Methods to Make Japanese Cucumber on a Stick
The Substances and Substitutions
- Japanese cucumbers – Should you can’t discover Japanese cucumbers, use Persian cucumbers as an alternative. American or English cucumbers with extra seeds within the center will not be best.
- Seasonings – kombu (dried kelp), salt, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce (elective), and dried purple chili (elective)
Seasoning Variations
- Maintain it easy with salt by skipping soy sauce. That is my favourite model.
- Swap soy sauce with miso.
- Use julienned ginger strips or crushed garlic.
The Cooking Steps
- Warmth the substances for the pickling resolution till the sugar melts utterly. Let it cool utterly earlier than transferring it to a resealable plastic bag (or container).
- Peel the cucumbers to create a stripe sample. This not solely offers a extra enticing look nevertheless it helps take up extra pickling options. Then, sprinkle salt and provides a delicate therapeutic massage. Salt attracts out moisture from the cucumber, which helps take up extra pickling options. Put aside for five minutes.
- Rapidly rinse the cucumbers and pat dry. Then switch the cucumbers to the plastic bag.
- Maintain it chilled within the fridge for a number of hours or as much as 8 hours, flipping the cucumbers midway by means of.
- Insert a chopstick into the middle of every cucumber, leaving 2-3 inches outdoors. Serve it actually chilled.
Cooking Ideas
- The pickling resolution could seem little to start out, however the cucumber will proceed to launch moisture which is able to dilute the options.
- Should you plan to pickle in a single day (extra taste), alter the salt or soy sauce (or miso, in case you are swapping) as a result of it might probably get salty.
- Insert chopsticks proper earlier than serving. Over time, the chopstick will get unfastened because the cucumber releases extra moisture.
Storage Ideas
When you end pickling, take out the cucumbers and refrigerate them for as much as 2 days. Don’t hold them within the pickling resolution as they get too salty.
What to Serve with Kyuri Asazuke
I like having fun with these cucumbers on a stick as a wholesome snack, however in addition they make a beautiful accompaniment to a Japanese or Asian meal. I think about them being a preferred appetizer at a BBQ cookout or events too!
Listed below are extra concepts on how I’d serve them with:
Extra Simple Japanese Pickles to Make at Residence
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Japanese Pickled Cucumber on a Stick
These savory-and-sweet Japanese Pickled Cucumbers on a Stick (Kyuri Asazuke) are the proper summertime on-a-stick meals! Cooling and refreshingly scrumptious, they’re a preferred road snack discovered at summer season festivals in Japan. Serve these straightforward but cool treats at your bbq cookouts or events!
Substances
For the Pickling Answer
Stop your display from going darkish
Directions
To Make the Pickling Answer
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Reduce 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) into strips about ¼ inch (6 mm) vast. Discard the seeds from 1 dried purple chili pepper and reduce into skinny rounds. Tip: Should you‘d prefer to make a spicy model, hold the seeds.
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In a small saucepan, add 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned), 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
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Add ⅓ cup water, the kombu strips, and the chili pepper slices. Activate the warmth to medium.
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Combine the pickling resolution and let the sugar dissolve utterly. Then, flip off the warmth and put aside to chill.
To Put together the Cucumbers
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Peel 4 Japanese or Persian cucumbers to create a striped sample. Reduce off each ends. (Right here, I exploit actually lengthy cucumbers, so I reduce them in half.)
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Sprinkle with 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and rub the cucumbers along with your arms. Put aside for five minutes.
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Rapidly rinse off the salt and pat dry with a clear towel or paper towel.
To Pickle the Cucumbers
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Pour the cooled pickling resolution right into a resealable plastic bag. Add the cucumbers to the bag. Allow them to evenly pickled for five–6 hours within the fridge. Tip: If you’ll not be round to take out the cucumbers after 5–6 hours (or desire to pickle in a single day), think about diluting the answer with water or decreasing the salt to maintain the cucumbers from changing into too salty.
To Serve
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Take away from the plastic bag and skewer every cucumber onto a wood chopstick. Insert the chopstick gently alongside the middle of the cucumber and maintain the cucumber straight so the chopstick doesn‘t poke out from the aspect. Tip: Skewer the cucumbers proper earlier than serving. You don‘t need to hold the chopstick contained in the cucumber for too lengthy as it can draw out the moisture and the cucumber will turn out to be unfastened.
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Serve the Cucumbers on a Stick over ice cubes. They’re scrumptious when they’re properly chilled!
Diet
Diet Information
Japanese Pickled Cucumber on a Stick
Quantity per Serving
% Each day Worth*
* P.c Each day Values are based mostly on a 2000 calorie weight-reduction plan.
