Sunomono

    One part of the Kaiseki meal is the Sunomono which is a small plate of vinegared items served to accompany with soup and rice. In class we always prepared a small plate of pickled items with our meals. This dish helps refresh and cleanse the palate as well as balance the overall meal. In class, we used  nukazuke the art of pickling using rice bran and the process of salting the item to remove moisture and then placing in a vinegar based liquid. We often pickled cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, peppers, daikon and even apples. Just like choosing a drink to accompany a dish the proper flavor and array of pickles must be chosen. My group decided that for a fatty dish having fruit along with the main pickled items was a good choice as the vinegar and acid was refreshing as well as cut some of the fat. Even though small, Japanese pickles are essential part of the meal. The process of pickling can be used on many things from vegetables to fruits, and some meats and fish as well.

    The way of pickling traces far back into history in the times when the need to preserve ingredients before the arrival of refrigeration. Another thing to learn is the types of pickling processes there are in the Japanese cuisine. First off, Shiozuke is a process of just salt pickling, ths is a quicker pickling process in which you salt and weigh down the ingredient drawing out all the moisture. This process is used to make things such as pickled cucumbers and umeboshi (pickled plum). The next process is suzuke in which you are pickling with the help of vinegar. For this process you would do the same salt pickling, but then place the item in a vinegared mixture. This process is used to make beni shoga (red pickled ginger) and gari (sushi ginger).  The next process is Shoyuzuke which is pickling in soy sauce with vinegar and sugar.  We have not done this process in class yet, but I am willing to try it in the innovation part of the class. This process is used to make Ninniku shoyuzuke ( garlic pickled in soy sauce) and Fukujinzuke (seven pickle relish). Another one that we have not done in class is misozuke which is pickling using miso paste as the base and burying the ingredients within the product, often used to pickle egg yolks. Lastly, nukazuke which is pickling using rice bran as the base and burying ingredients within the product and caring for it daily. This process can be utilized by many ingredients, one popular is takuan (yellow pickled daikon radish).

Work Cited

“Tsukemono: The Complete Guide to Japanese Pickles.” Let's Experience Japan, gurunavi.com/en/japanfoodie/2015/08/tsukemono.html?__ngt__=TT12c837b77000ac1e4ae0e0qN2LW00O47Y5ZocgL-wScP#:~:text=Along%20with%20rice%20and%20miso,cultures%20that%20promote%20digestive%20health.