Quick Cucumber and Shiso Pickles
Japanese cucumbers are skinnier than standard cukes. These, and feathery shiso leaves, are the key to this dish.
Teri calls for apple cider vinegar, which is more mellow than white vinegar.
The pickles are slightly sweet from the addition of sugar, but they also benefit from a healthy tablespoonful of salt.
Mirin, a sweet rice wine for cooking, adds more tart and more sweet.
Unless you're very patient or have an army of helpers, you will want to use a mandoline to slice your cukes.
Even slices every time!
Merrill tackles the final cuke.
Teri has you stack 8 shiso leaves and roll them like a cigar.
Slicing them this way creates lovely thin ribbons (a.k.a. a chiffonade).
The cucumber and the shiso join the pickling liquid.
A quick mix with the hands, and then, into the fridge!
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Author Notes: I keep a version of this in the fridge all summer long -- carrots, radishes, cucumbers, onions, celery or any other vegetable available, marinated in vinegar, shiso, mirin, and sugar. But I always, always include cucumbers. They're crisp and cool and perfect as a garnish, summer chutney with fish or chicken, or topping for soba. They can be ready in four hours or four days. I slice the cucumbers on the blade side of a box grater. You can cut them to your liking, I like them thin, like little round silky ribbons. Somehow, there's more umami for me this way. - Teri - Teri
Food52 Review: Shiso and pickles should hang out more often. The aromatic green leaves give Teri's lightly sweet pickles a fresh, herbaceous lift, reminiscent of cinnamon, cloves and ginger all at once. Because the pickling liquid is left cold, the delicate coins of Japanese cucumber retain a satisfying bite, even after several hours in the refrigerator. The pickles would be great with a light, summery fish dish. - A&M - A&M
Serves summer a little cooler.
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon salt, preferrably sea or kosher
- 5 Japanese cucumbers, or 2 English cucumbers
- 8 shiso leaves (or substitute basil)
- Put sugar, vinegar, mirin and salt into a non-reactive bowl. Whisk until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Slice cucumbers as thinly as possible. (To seed or not is up to you and what you found at the market. With the skinny Japanese cukes or the English version, you should be okay without removing the seeds.)
- Gather the shiso leaves like a deck of cards, roll into a tube and slice, chiffonade-style, like you would with basil.
- Add cucumbers and shiso to the marinade and stir. Try to cover the vegetables with the marinade. It's okay if the liquid doesn't submerge the cucumbers. They will break down and get smaller as they marinate.
- Put the mix in the fridge and let marinate for at least 4 hours. Mix a couple of times if you can, but it's okay if you don't. Once pointed in the right direction, cucumbers tend to take care of themselves.
- Serve, icy cold out of the fridge if you can.
- Your Best Cucumber Recipe Contest Finalist!
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about 1 month ago JadeTree
My house has become a very popular place for dropping in thanks to this recipe - we love it and so do our friends!
4 months ago mdm
I made this all summer, with lots of different veggies, thank you!
10 months ago bluet
I was given some garden cukes of unknown vairety so I salted them first to let out some liquid. Didn't have shiso so used basil. Looks great and I'm sure they'll taste great, too.
almost 2 years ago Bluejade
Very excited to try this as red shiso really is a weed in my garden. Thanks to SallyCan for posting its positive virtues. Several years ago an older woman who was a gardening friend thought several of us should plant this so we would have more red leaves in our gardens. So I did and it does look beautiful, much better than the more spindly purple basil plants. Maybe she also knew the plants would bring good things to the gardeners. I can never completely eradicate it from the garden because it's very prolific, pretty and reminds me of my gardening friends. I find the scent and taste rather intense, but glad to find a Food52 recipe for it.
about 2 years ago Teri
Healthier kitchen: where'd you get your shiso seeds? Is it hard to grow?
almost 2 years ago healthierkitchen
Johnny's Selected Seeds. It's growing like mad! Glad I planted them in a pot!
about 2 years ago Teri
Thanks Pat. Glad you liked it!
over 2 years ago Pat in SoCal
I will make this today as I have a little shiso left from my trip to "little Tokyo". BTW...purple shiso (called aka (red) shiso) is used to make those shriveled salty pickled plums you see in plastic containers (also eaten every morning for good health). Be careful using it as it imparts it's color and might not be too pretty in pickles. I have never seen it just eaten or used in other cooking. Green shiso (called ao (blue) shiso...I know it's not blue but that's what it's called) is used for the general cooking and often as a garnish, like parsley, in Japanese restaurants. I lived in Tokyo for 5 years and I miss it ...and the easy to get shiso...every day.
about 2 years ago Pat in SoCal
OMG...this was so good. I wish I could get shiso wothout driving 50 miles.
about 2 years ago healthierkitchen
I bought some shiso seeds recently and am going to try to grow it as it's so hard to buy in stores!
almost 3 years ago windycityvegan
Hurray for shiso! I have both green and purple varieties that are very invasive on our property, so I'm always looking for new ideas about how to incorporate them in different dishes. I like to add really young leaves to salads, and larger leaves are always a nice addition to pesto or used as mini-wraps for finger food.
almost 3 years ago Teri
Shiso in your garden? Lucky you! I think you can use it any way you'd use fresh mint or basil. It's a little chewier, so I like to cut it in ribbons. I put it in fried rice -- leftover rice, sesame oil, a handful or so of the week's leftover vegetables, a fried egg. It's often my Sunday morning fare. (Especially if there was a little too much wine Saturday night!). I bet shiso would also be good muddled in a glass, then with plain ol' iced tea.
almost 3 years ago SallyCan
Thanks, Teri, I've got the purple variety growing like a weed in my garden. My neighbor's mother gave it to me, saying in broken English, that it is a plant of good health and fortune, that wherever it is growing it means "that God is watching over you". She drinks it in a broth in the morning, "for health". I usually serve it in Vietnamese rice noodle dishes and salads, and have been wondering what else to do with it, so I'll be drying some for my rice, now!
almost 3 years ago Teri
My friends tell me that purple is usually for pickles, so it sounds like it would work. Dried purple shiso I know is often sprinkled over rice; I've never put it in a recipe. Another friend told me people use green shiso more often because it's more common.
almost 3 years ago SallyCan
I just asked Lei this same question~ what is the difference in purple and green shiso? Would purple work ok in your recipe?
almost 3 years ago Teri
Try an Asian grocery store. Even if they don't specialize in Japanese food, they might have a small section or know who in town would. Stores focusing on Korean, Chinese food would be more likely to carry it, I'd think. If there's a Whole Foods in your town, try there. If they don't have it, maybe they'll order it. Or any other big, good chain. I'd think Wegmans might carry it these days. It should be in the produce section. A&M, any other suggestions?
almost 3 years ago gingerroot
Congratulations! This looks great. I have an abundance of baby carrots, turnips and radishes screaming to be pickled!
almost 3 years ago Midge
Sounds great! Fell in love with shiso in Japan and have been on the lookout for it ever since. Will step up my efforts to find it so I can make this.
almost 3 years ago fiveandspice
Emily is a trusted source on Scandinavian Cuisine.
Echoing drbabs, where would a person come by shiso leaves?
almost 3 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Congratulations, Teri. Tell me, where do you get shiso leaves?
almost 3 years ago TasteFood
You had me with the shiso and the mirin from the start. Congratulations!
almost 3 years ago Teri
Thanks everyone. What a surprise! Hope it's easy for you to find shiso. And that you add it to your herb repertoire!
almost 3 years ago mrslarkin
Mrs. Larkin is a trusted source on Baking.
I've got to get me some shiso leaves. This sounds great!