Nukazuke

Nukazuke is a traditional Japanese method of pickling vegetables. First, a fermented rice bran mixture is prepared by dissolving salt in water, and then mixing in the rice bran powder. Additional ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, chili peppers, garlic, ginger, or kelp can be added to flavour the bed. This bed is known as the nukadoko in Japanese. “Nuka” means rice bran and “Doko” means bed.

Once mixed together, the nukadoko will have the appearance of wet sand. The first vegetables buried in the nukadoko are sacrificial vegetables, as their purpose is to seed the nukadoko with lactic acid bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) is naturally abundant on the skins of fruits and vegetables, so burying the vegetables in the nukadoko will transfer LAB to this rice bran bed.

After 24 hours, the first vegetables are discarded into the compost, and the nukadoko should be mixed from top to bottom. While a spoon can be used for mixing, many people like to mix the bed by hand, so that the bacteria from the hand becomes part of the nukadoko. This is known as “the hand of the mother,” which will give a fermentation bed its own distinct flavour.

New vegetables can now be buried underneath the bed and eaten as pickles later. Vegetables buried in the nukadoko are transformed into tangy pickles with a distinct flavour from the nuka bed. It may take a few cycles of burying new vegetables in the bed before the pickles start to taste good, so don’t be discouraged if the first few batches of vegetables you bury taste overly salty or earthy.

What kind of Vegetables Can I Bury in the Nukadoko?

Common vegetables to bury in the bed include daikon radishes, carrots, Persian cucumbers, eggplant, and cabbage. You can also try burying whole okra, fresh shiitake mushrooms, peeled hardboiled eggs or apples. Experiment with different fruits and vegetables to see what you like best.

How to Store the Nukadoko

This is a bit of a troublesome ferment as it requires you to mix the bed by hand every day to maintain it if it is left on the counter. Even when you are not using the bed to pickle anything, mix the bed.

For longer term storage, you may store the nukadoko in the fridge and take it out when you would like to use it. Alternatively, you can permanently leave the nukadoko in the fridge even when pickling vegetables. Just note that he vegetables will take longer to pickle inside the fridge.

In the refrigerator, you can mix the bed every other day. If you are leaving the house for a long time, you can put the nukadoko in the freezer.

How do I fix the Nukadoko bed?

As you use the bed, the consistency will change overtime as vegetables release their liquid into the bed. The bed should have the consistency of miso. If it is too wet, adjust it by adding more nukadoko (dry rice bran mixture) and salt. You can also use weights to press down on the bed and pour the excess liquid out. Or, you can dab the top with some paper towels to absorb the excess moisture. If the bed is too dry, add a bit more water to it.

If the bed is very sour, add a bit of salt to it. You can also try adding some dry mustard powder to reduce the acidity and control the fermentation, as mustard powder is a natural antiseptic.

How long will the Nukadoko last?

The bed will naturally decrease overtime, as some nukadoko is lost during mixing and pickling. You can top up the bed by making more nukadoko mixture and adding it to the existing bed.

Your bed will last indefinitely as long as you properly maintain it. If the bed smells foul and you haven’t maintained it, it is best to throw it in the compost and start from scratch.

Ingredients

• 1 bag of Nukadoko (Rice bran mixture)
• Non-iodized Salt
• 2 inch piece of dried kelp
• 2-3 Dried Shiitake mushrooms
• 1-2 Dried of fresh chili peppers

Method

Prepare the bed

1. Prepare your nukadoko mixture following the product instructions. Some nukadoko bags have salt and seasonings already added. Other products require salt to be added in separately.
2. The nuka bed is prepared by mixing the nukadoko with filtered water. The bed needs to be mixed by hand from top to bottom. The mixture should have a miso-paste like consistency. Extra flavourants such as dried kelp, shiitake mushrooms, and chili peppers can be mixed in if desired.
3. Pack the bed down into a medium sized container. No large gaps or air pockets should be present in the bed. Leave the bed in a cool dark place for 24 hours.
4. The next day, mix the bed from top to bottom. The bed must now be seeded with lactic acid bacteria which will help pickle the vegetables in the future.
5. Take a 1-3 large cabbage leaves and bury the leaves under the bed. Alternatively, other vegetables such as carrots, radishes, or cucumbers can be used instead. This part is called “throwing away the vegetables,” since these first vegetables buried under the bed will be very salty and will not have the ideal taste.
6. After another 24 hours, mix the bed from top to bottom by hand. Compost the vegetables inside of the bed and replace them with fresh vegetables. This next batch of vegetables can be consumed as nukazuke pickles. However, they may still taste overly salty, so you may want to put these vegetables in the compost as well. It may take a few cycles of burying new vegetables underneath the bed before the taste becomes ideal.

Pickling vegetables in the bed

1. When the bed is ready, bury your vegetables inside. Only pickle the amount of vegetables you are prepared to eat at a time. Keep vegetables such as carrots and daikon in larger pieces, so that they don’t soften too quickly and release too much liquid into the nuka bed.
2. Pickling time is dependent on the temperature outside. In the summer, vegetables will only take 5-6 hours until they are ready. In the spring, vegetables will take 10-12 hours, and in the winter vegetables will take 20-24 hours.
3. Take the vegetables out and slice and serve as a side with your meals.

Maintaining the nuka bed

2. As you use the bed, the consistency will change overtime as vegetables release their liquid into the bed. The bed should have the consistency of miso. If it is too wet, adjust it by adding more nukadoko (dry rice bran mixture) and salt. You can also use weights to press down on the bed and pour the excess liquid out. If the bed is too dry, add a bit more water to it.
3. The bed will naturally decrease overtime, as some nukadoko is lost during mixing and pickling. You can top up the bed by making more nukadoko mixture and adding it to the existing bed.
4. Your bed will last indefinitely as long as you properly maintain it. If the bed smells foul and you haven’t maintained it, it is best to throw it in the compost and start from scratch.