First of all, what is nukazuke? Nukazuke (lit. rice bran pickle) is a pickle (tsukemono) made from burying vegetables in a salted pickling bed (nukadoko) of primarily toasted rice bran flavored with kombu, soybeans, chili peppers, ginger and any number of aromatic additions. A seasoned nukadoko is typically maintained for years, handed down from Mother to Daughter, much like a fine heirloom sourdough starter. Nukazuke is time consuming and fairly high-maintenance as these things go, requiring daily attention and tweaking to get the flavor and intensity just so. The payoff is delicious, salty pickles that are ready to eat after only a day or two.
So let’s just jump right into the recipe.
What you need
- Special Equipment
- A large crock or plastic food-grade bucket (or a traditional tsukedaru)
- cheese cloth or towel
- scale
- large bowl
- Ingredients
- 6 lbs. (2.7kg) toasted rice bran
- 14 oz. (400g) salt (15% weight of rice bran)
- 2 lg slices of white bread
- 16 cups of water
- 10” (25cm) dried kombu
- 8 dried chili peppers
- 3/4 cup dried soybeans
- 2” (5cm) ginger root
- 1 cup mustard powder
- vegetable as a starter, such as outer cabbage leaves or vegetable scraps
What to do
Step 1 – Dissolve the salt in the water in a large bowl. When the salt is mostly dissolved, tear the white bread into small pieces and add to the brine.
Step 2 – Put 1/3 of the toasted rice bran into the crock. Add 3 or 4 Tbsp of the mustard powder and 1/2 cup of the soybeans.
Step 3 – Drizzle the brine with the pieces of bread into the rice bran, about two cups of it. Mix thoroughly, scraping the bottom to incorporate the brine into the rice bran.Add more rice bran, half of the peppers and the rest of the soybeans to the mix. Pour more of the brine and mix thoroughly again.
Step 5 – Add the remaining rice bran and brine to an evenly moist consistency. Mix well and add more of each, ensuring that the mix is neither too runny nor too dry.Bury the kombu and ginger root in the rice bran. I like to cut the ginger into chunks and break the kombu up a bit before adding.
Step 7 – Bury your test vegetables in the mix. I used cabbage leaves and chunks of a daikon I had in the fridge. Press down the surface flat to release air bubbles. This is an anaerobic fermentation and care must be taken when burying the vegetables that none of them are sticking out, or it can lead to spoilage.
Step 8 – Pat and smooth the surface and wipe the inner sides and rim of the crock with a wet cloth. Place a cheesecloth or towel over the top to keep out bugs and dust and stick it in the corner of your kitchen.
Priming period
Every day for the next week or two, dig out the buried “starter” vegetables, mix the nuka to aerate it and bury new vegetables. Make sure you pack the nukadoko down firmly and wipe the rim and inner walls of the crock. Some of the firmer vegetables (daikon, carrot) can stay in a few days. Wash the vegetables off, slice and taste them. You may even rub some salt into the vegetables before burying them; I almost always do this.
Daily care and feeding of…
You will need to mix your nukazuke every day, sometimes twice a day when it is hot and humid, whether you have vegetables in it or not. Taste it occasionally, adding a bit more salt if it loses its saltiness. Feel free to add mushrooms, more kombu, garlic, ginger, soy beans, sake, miso, beer… experiment! We really enjoy small radishes, eggplant and cucumber nukazuke.
Please share your experiences and pictures in the comments! I would love to see your nukazuke results and share ideas.
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Hi Matthias
Thanks for the description. I have been preparing to make nuka zuke for some weeks now, but get stuck by not being able to find rice bran. I dont know where you live, but here in Bruxelles its a bit of a challenge. any advice on how to find rice bran or alternatives?
Thanks
Soren
[Reply]
Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
August 15th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Here is an online resource that will ship rice bran. This is the brand I use for my nukazuke:efoodgrocer.
A little digging around online for Asian markets in the Brussels area turns up Kam-Yuen, but I didn’t see much else. They may have it.
I hope this helps some, and good luck!
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I just stayed with a family (state-side) that turned me on to this amazing food. The wife told me she just uses old bread and not rice-bran… has anyone else tried this? Do you think the proportions would be different?
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
November 6th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I have a recipe that actually uses a loaf of white bread, a 6-pack of beer and salt… I haven’t tried it yet but I would love to. The author (Gaku Homma) called it “America-zuke”. (This is from, incidentally, my favorite Japanese cookbook) Here is the link – The Folk Art of Japanese Country Cooking: A Traditional Diet for Today’s World
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I am trying to locate where I can purchase online the wooden tub for making nukazuke?
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
May 5th, 2011 at 10:57 am
Sorry for the late response! My comments were all going into my spam for some reason.
Those simple wooden tubs are incredibly difficult to find in The States. I have never seen them for sale here. I purchased mine at a tiny store on the outskirts of Tokyo and crammed it into the overhead on the plane back home :)
There are stores online that will act as a proxy, letting you buy things from Japanese vendors through them, but the shipping and extra charges are ridiculous. I’m not sure what the site was called, but you may want to search for that. You could also make friends with a penpal (I recommend interpals.com) and have them buy one for you. It is difficult to get your hands on one for cheap unless you actually go to Japan.
Good luck!
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Can spoiled nuka be salvaged?
[Reply]
Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
June 28th, 2011 at 11:05 am
Sorry for the late reply on this!
I have saved slightly spoiled nuka by cleaning out any left over vegetables and mixing in a 1/4 cup of mustard seed powder, 2 TBSP salt and a couple dried chilis. If it is moldy, though, I would not trust it – you have to be careful and stir it every day to prevent spoilage. Let me know if this helps, and good luck!.
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I’m starting my first batch this evening. I have an old Japanese cookbook that I love (Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji) which has an entire chapter on pickles. I believe this style is called nukamiso-zuke, and nukazuke is a completely dry method of pickling with rice bran.
Tsuji suggests that you can use wheat bran or even oatmeal if rice bran can’t be found. I found mine at United Noodles here in Minneapolis (but it wasn’t easy!) He also suggests replenishing the mash few months or so by tossing some out and adding more of the original recipe. Give it a day or two to stabilize.
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I started my first nukadoko exactly a week ago. I used toasted rice bran, a slice of bread, salt, water, beer, egg shells and konbu. As starters I’m using napa cabbage, carrot peels and Apple peels. I mix my nukadoko every day (It’s about 21-22C° every day). Unfortunately I still can’t tell any difference from the beginning. It doesn’t smell much of wet rice bran anymore but there’s no hint of sourness or other smells like it should… Am I just impatient or is there any way I could help my nukadoko start better?
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Mathias Purtlebaugh Reply:
December 7th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Awesome to hear! Just be patient… sometimes it takes a bit. Make sure you are only covering the top with a cheesecloth (not plastic wrap or non-porous material) to allow flora to get in and to keep dust out. It needs to breathe. Nuka thrives in warm, dark places with air circulation. Let me know how it goes… sometimes you won’t smell a change for two or three weeks, but you’ll know when it starts.
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