Fukujinzuke are a condiment in Japan, it is a type of vegetable pickle or relish that is usually served with Japanese curry. You often find fukujinzuke pickle/relish in a little container on the table in curry restaurants. Sometimes it is served on the curry. But, don't mix it up with the red pickled ginger that is also sometimes served with Japanese curry, they have a different flavour.

Fukujinzuke has a tangy, slightly sweet and sour flavour with a lovely crunch. They can be simple made with daikon (Japanese long white radish) or a combination of vegetables such as daikon, renkon (lotus root), cucumber, eggplant, carrot and mushrooms. The vegetables are cut into small thin pieces and marinaded in a shiso based vinegar, sugar, mirin and soya sauce mixture. To make this gluten-free you just need to use gluten-free soya sauce and mirin.

This pickled relish should last about a month in the fridge. I have frozen it and then thawed what I need, this has worked out well. The texture was slightly softer than before freezing, but the flavour was the same.

Gluten-Free Fukujinzuke (Japanese Pickles for Curry)

Ingredients

• 150 grams carrot
• 150 grams cucumber
• 450 grams daikon
• 150 grams eggplant
• 60 grams peeled ginger
• 50 grams lotus root
• 4 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms
• 6 perilla (shiso) leaves
• 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds or shiso seeds
• 1-2 Tablespoons salt
• 1-2 Red chili peppers or 1 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)

Marinade

• 1 cup mirin
• 1 cup gluten-free soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar

Directions

1. Wash, peel and cut up all the vegetables into thin small pieces
2. Put the vegetables in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Gently mix and let sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the excess water and put in a clean bowl.
3. Combine the marinade ingredients into a medium size pot and bring to a boil. When the sugar has dissolved turn off.
4. Mix the vegetables, sesame or shiso seeds and marinade together.
5. Put the mixture into a container or ziplock bag and put in the fridge. Let marinate for 24 hours.
6. After 24 hours drain some of the liquid and put back in your container or ziplock bag.
7. The pickles are ready to eat. Store in the fridge.

You may notice that mine is not red. Fukujinzuke in restaurants and stores is often a red colour. This red colour is most commonly achieved by using a red dye. It can sometimes have a purplish red colour and this usually comes from the purple perilla. I don't put any colouring in mine, so it is just the natural colour of the vegetables used.

I can easily find green perilla (shiso)leaves, but I haven't been able to find purple ones. By the way, perilla in Japanese is "shiso". If you can find perilla seeds, they really give the pickles a nice flavour, but I haven't seen them in my town.

You can also eat Fukujinzuke mixed with rice and green tea which is dish called Ochazuke (ocha = green tean + zuke = submerged). This is a tasty quick meal. You just put hot rice in a small bowl, add some savoury ingredients such as fukujinzuke and sliced nori and then pour hot green tea on top of the rice. I really love this tasty quick meal. I also use fukujinzuke in fried rice and in rolled maki sushi. I use it as a filling in onigiri (rice balls), it is also tasty eaten with noodles such as soba or ramen.

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns. Not sponsored. If sponsored I will always say so at the top of the post.