Quick Cucumber and Shiso Pickles

Thank you. These are tremendously good. I followed the recipe exactly and the cucumbers were ready to eat in a few hours. Both cucumbers and shiso leaves appeared in my farm share box this week so I am making more today.

These are so delicious. I didn't have any basil or shiso so I put in some dill instead and it still had a nice fresh herb flavor to it that blended in with the sweetness. No simpler snack around.

This is a great recipe for quick cucumbers. If anyone wants to take some time though, try using a Japanese pickle press. Cucumbers and other veggies made this way are more crispy and will last a little longer. The Japanese pickle press is available online through simply Googling it.
Here is how I make them: I choose about four or five cucumbers, peel them with a potato peeler, slice them the long way and remove the core pulp with the seeds. (seeded veggies last longer). I then slice the halves in thin moon shapes. Then they are layered in single layers in the Japanese Press container. I generously salt (sea salt) in between layers.
The top is seated is then on the container and then the screw is screwed down as far as possible. The assembled press with the cucumbers is then left on the counter for about an hour.
Once the water has been extracted from the cucumbers there will be a lot of brine (salty water) in the container. This brine is poured off and the cucumbers are rinsed in fresh water. I then put my pickles in a canning jar with a small amount of salt and vinegar mixed with water enough to cover the veggies. I put them in the fridge and serve them alongside meals, or in salads, and these are great for snacks in between meals. Pickles made this way are crispy crunchy and delicious. This is the kind of pickle that is often found in Japanese restaurants.
The pressure and salt is important in creating crispy veggies. Crocks with weights can be purchased, some expensively, to make these pickles as well as sauerkraut, and kimchi. Use only salt to make these and add the other ingredients after the pickles have been pressed. Adding vinegar to the pressing process, which is acidic, impedes the action of the salt which is alkaline and it keeps the pickles from being crispy.

How long do the fridge pickles last?

Literally, my 4 year old son ate half the batch an hour after I made these. Happy Mama

My house has become a very popular place for dropping in thanks to this recipe - we love it and so do our friends!

I made this all summer, with lots of different veggies, thank you!

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.

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.

Healthier kitchen: where'd you get your shiso seeds? Is it hard to grow?

Thanks Pat. Glad you liked it!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

I just asked Lei this same question~ what is the difference in purple and green shiso? Would purple work ok in your recipe?

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?

Congratulations! This looks great. I have an abundance of baby carrots, turnips and radishes screaming to be pickled!

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.