Japanese Pickled Cucumber Recipe (with Ginger and Chili)

Hey guys, it's Yudof here from stachyrecipes.com and today I'm going to show you how to make a refreshing Japanese cucumber pickle we call Tsukemono. I'll be flavouring it with ginger and chilli for an extra kick and you can eat it after just an hour. Let's start with the ingredients. You will need 20 grams of fresh ginger, 1 dried chilli, 3 Japanese cucumbers, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of sushi vinegar or rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. So first, we're going to prepare the cucumber. I've washed them in advance so next I'm just going to sprinkle a chopping board with salt and then roll the cucumber over it. This salt helps improve the taste of the cucumber and also makes little scratches on the surface so that it absorbs more flavour. I'm using 3 Japanese cucumbers. They're quite small and have less water than English cucumbers. They're perfect for pickles because they're very crunchy. You could also use mini cucumbers or Persian cucumbers too. Once you've done that, wash them off and set aside for later. Next I have my fresh ginger. I peeled it with a spoon and now I'm just cutting it into thin strips. I find it's easiest to cut it into slices first and then stack up the slices to cut it into thin strips. Then I have 1 dried chilli. I'm just going to remove the seeds so it's not too spicy but this is optional. After that, just finely slice it. Okay now I'm going to smash the cucumbers a bit. This is a Chinese technique that creates a variety of textures within the cucumber. Some parts are crunchy, some parts become tender. It really makes a simple cucumber more interesting. Not only that but it again helps absorb the flavour. I'm using a thick glass tankard but you can use a rolling pin or something else heavy like a wine bottle. Don't completely crush it, just a bit. Once you're done, remove the ends and cut the cucumber into bite-sized chunks. Transfer the chunks to a ziplock bag with a ginger and chilli. Now we're going to add a few things to help it pickle. So I have 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sushi vinegar but you can just use rice vinegar instead if you like, a teaspoon of soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil. Shake it around and massage the bag to help mix up the flavours and coat all the cucumber pieces. Finely seal the bag and leave it in the fridge. You can eat them in about an hour but for a more intense flavour, I recommend leaving them overnight. And there you have it, delicious, crunchy and refreshing Japanese cucumber pickles with ginger and chilli. Thank you so much for watching, if you enjoyed this recipe, don't forget to like and subscribe to my channel for more tasty Japanese recipes. Thank you again.