Sushiko (Lactic-Fermented Glutinous Rice and Vegetables)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 150 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 60 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Steamed glutinous rice mixed with cucumber, red cabbage and red shiso ferments into something thick and tangy, stained red from grain to grain.
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Northwestern Tsugaru in Aomori has long put it up as a winter preserve. The shiso is salted and kneaded separately and its dark juice squeezed out, which removes its harsh astringency before it meets the rice. The grains should stay mostly whole while the shiso and vegetables spread evenly through them. The recipe fills an 18 L crock, so a pressing weight and a cool spot are needed before starting. Sourness and thickness keep shifting as it ferments, and it is eaten with rice once it reaches the stage you like.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Rinse and soak the glutinous rice thoroughly, then steam it until evenly cooked.
Spread it in a wide container to release steam and cool completely through the center.
- 2
Cut the cucumbers into manageable pieces and shred the purple cabbage coarsely.
Rub both vegetables evenly with 250 g pickling salt until they release moisture, then press and drain them firmly.
- 3
Rub the red shiso leaves firmly, adding the 100 g treatment salt in portions.
When dark liquid emerges, squeeze it out and discard it, then loosen the leaves roughly.
- 4
Remove the red chili seeds and slice it thinly.
Combine the drained cucumber and cabbage with the shiso, chili, five-fold concentrated vinegar, and white sugar, mixing evenly.
- 5
Combine the completely cooled glutinous rice and seasoned vegetables in a large bowl.
Do not mash the rice completely; fold until the shiso and vegetables are distributed throughout.
- 6
Pack the mixture into a clean 18 L pickling barrel in several layers, pressing each one firmly to remove gaps.
Level and cover the surface, add a weight, and leave the barrel in a cool place.
- 7
Keep the batch pressed for several days and check its fermentation.
When the rice is evenly red, the mixture has become gooey, and the preferred sourness has developed, remove portions with a clean utensil and serve as a side dish with rice.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
Checked: 2026-08-11
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