Fermented & preserved
Tsukemono (pickles)
漬物
24 varieties
Tsukemono covers vegetables and fish pickled in salt, rice bran, sake lees, rice malt, miso, soy sauce, or vinegar — each medium drawing out shelf life and flavor through microbes or osmotic pressure. Kyoto's suguki-zuke ferments in salt alone, while Akita's iburigakko is first smoked over an irori hearth before going into a bran bed: the same basic act of pickling ends up looking very different depending on a region's climate and what pickling medium was on hand. Inland areas shut in by snow are said to have developed these as food to see out the winter, while others grew into souvenirs sold at temple gates and along old highways. This section follows the different pickling media and the local circumstances behind each.
Dishes tied to a place19
- Bettara-zukeべったら漬けTokyo Chuo (Nihonbashi)daikon pickled sweet in rice malt, a Nihonbashi autumn tradition
- Fukujin-zuke福神漬けTokyoseven vegetables diced and steeped in soy sauce, curry rice's usual companion
- Harihari-zukeハリハリ漬けKanagawa Miurathick-cut dried daikon pickled crisp in soy and kelp, from Miura
- Hida Akakabu-zuke飛騨赤かぶ漬けGifu Takayama and Hidaa red turnip pickle that turns a mountain valley's winter table crimson
- Hiroshimana-zuke広島菜漬けHiroshima Hiroshima (Asaminami Ward)a mild, faintly peppery leaf pickle grown only around Hiroshima
- IburigakkoいぶりがっこAkita Yokote (southern inland Akita)smoke-dried daikon pickled in rice bran, from Akita's snow country
- Matsumae-zuke松前漬けHokkaido Matsumaesquid, kelp, and herring roe steeped in soy sauce, a Hokkaido winter keeper
- Moriguchi-zuke守口漬けAichi Fusoa meter-long daikon pickled whole in sake lees, a Nagoya specialty
- Nara-zuke奈良漬けNara City, Naramelon repacked in sake lees until it turns the color of amber
- Nozawana-zuke野沢菜漬けNagano Nozawaonsenpickled leaf mustard from a Nagano hot-spring village
- Rakkyou-zukeらっきょう漬けTottori Tottori (Fukube)Rakkyo-zuke — sweet-vinegared shallots grown in the sand dunes of Tottori
- Sangohachi-zuke三五八漬けFukushima Nihonmatsuvegetables pickled in a rice-malt bed named for its 3:5:8 ratio
- Senmai-zuke千枚漬けKyoto Kameoka (Shino)thin-sliced turnip pickled in kelp and vinegar, a Kyoto winter classic
- Shiba-zukeしば漬けKyoto Kyoto (Ohara, Sakyo Ward)purple shiso-pickled eggplant and cucumber from Kyoto's Ohara valley
- Suguki-zukeすぐき漬けKyoto Kyoto (Kamigamo, Kita Ward)a salt-only fermented turnip from Kyoto's Kamigamo shrine district
- Sunki-zukeすんき漬けNagano Kisoa salt-free, lactic-fermented turnip green from the Kiso valley
- Tsubo-zukeつぼ漬けKagoshimasun-dried daikon pickled sweet, a Kagoshima side to curry rice
- Wasabi-zukeわさび漬けShizuoka Shizuoka (Utogi, Aoi Ward)Wasabizuke — chopped wasabi worked into sake lees, a Shizuoka station souvenir since 1889
- Yamagata Dashi山形のだしYamagata Murayama and OkitamaDashi — a summer relish of chopped raw vegetables from Yamagata's Murayama basin
No single place of origin5
- Kasuzukevegetables re-packed again and again in sake lees until they turn amber
- Nukazukevegetables (and sometimes fish) fermented in a living rice-bran bed
- Takana-zukemustard greens pickled with chili, a Kyushu everyday staple
- Takuansun-dried daikon pickled in rice bran, Japan's everyday yellow pickle
- Umeboshisalt-cured, sun-dried plums with a sourness that cuts through everything
View all Tsukemono (pickles) on the map
Before you go
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- How to shop in a depachika (department store food hall)A guide to browsing prepared foods and bento, choosing wagashi as a gift with a good shelf life, sampling etiquette, end-of-day discounts, asking for cold packs and wrapping, and finding your way around a depachika floor.
- Enjoying a bussanten (regional products fair)A guide to what's sold at a bussanten (regional products fair), how to find one, when it gets crowded, shelf life and taking food home, and how to fit one around a trip.