Shibazuke (Eggplant and Red Shiso Fermented Pickle)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 130 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 100 servings
- Ingredients
- 6
About this dish
Shibazuke is a representative Kyoto pickle made by salt-fermenting summer vegetables with red shiso from the Ohara area of Kyoto City.
Read more
Ten kilograms of eggplant are cut 5 mm thick, while cucumber, green chili, and myoga are prepared separately. Red shiso sprigs are washed, the leaves are removed and roughly chopped, and they are mixed with the eggplant. About a 10 cm layer of that mixture is packed into a pickling container and salted, then the myoga, cucumber, and green chili are alternated through subsequent layers. A generous covering of shiso goes on top, followed by a weight equal to the total ingredient weight. After one full day and night, the first black liquid is poured away. The pickle is then kept pressed so clean liquid stands 3 to 4 cm above the drop lid while fermentation continues for several days. The resulting purple, sour vegetables are served with rice or sake.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Season
Remove the eggplant stems, wash the eggplants, and cut them into even 5 mm slices so all the cut surfaces salt at the same rate.
- 2Prep
Halve the green chilies lengthwise, cut the cucumbers into large diagonal pieces, and thinly slice the myoga.
Keep the three prepared vegetables separate.
- 3Prep
Wash the red shiso sprigs and seed heads, remove the leaves, and chop them roughly.
Mix the leaves and seed-bearing portions evenly through the eggplant.
- 4Season
Pack about a 10 cm layer of the eggplant and shiso mixture into a clean pickling container and sprinkle it evenly with salt.
Alternate myoga, cucumber, and green chili above it, repeating the layers in the same manner.
- 5Control
Cover the top with more red shiso leaves and seed-bearing portions than in the other layers.
Add the drop lid and a weight equal to the total ingredient weight, then press for one full day and night in a cool place.
- 6Step
After one day and night, tilt the container and pour away all the black pickling liquid that has emerged.
Press the ingredients again so the clean liquid that follows rises 3 to 4 cm above the drop lid.
- 7Finish
Keep the vegetables submerged beneath the clean liquid and ferment them for several days in a cool place.
Once the eggplant and cucumber have taken on a purple color and sour taste, remove portions with a clean utensil and serve with rice or sake.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Eggplant, cucumber, myoga, and green chili are layered with red shiso and salt.
- Finish cue
- Keep the vegetables submerged beneath the clean liquid and ferment them for several days in a cool place.
- Avoid this
- Do not retain the black liquid released after the first night.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
130min, 6 ingredients
Category median
33min, 8 ingredients
Based on 152 recipes
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