I've started making pickled vegetables in rice bran.
Homemade pickled vegetables are delicious, as expected!
I've failed countless times in the past and ruined my rice bran pickle bed,
This time for sure...
I heard that a friend of mine had started making pickled vegetables,
I thought I'd like to start too.
I've come to think this even more since we started having rice for breakfast.
This warm rice and miso soup,
It would be perfect if there were some pickled vegetables.
But.
Since we live in two locations, we can't take care of our rice bran pickle bed every day.
I had given up on the idea because I travel a lot...
So I bought some pickled vegetables from the supermarket.
Hmm...
It wasn't the flavor I wanted.
Back in the day, we used to have pickled vegetables (nukazuke) on the dinner table at my parents' house.
It wasn't always there,
There were periods when it wasn't available,
My mother must have made many mistakes too.
But I think there were usually some.
Cucumbers, radishes, eggplants, etc.
My favorite is cabbage.
I prefer aged pickles to lightly pickled ones.
Making aged pickles is tricky because it requires getting the balance between the degree of pickling and the amount of salt right.
The deliciousness of the aged pickled cucumbers my grandmother made when I was little,
I vaguely remember it.
The indescribably wonderful aroma and feel when stirring the rice bran bed.
The memories of touching it since I was little,
Looking back now, it might be a priceless treasure.
Around that time, I came across a post on social media that said, "It's okay if you don't stir your rice bran pickle bed every day."
Huh? Really?
It seems to depend on the temperature, but apparently it's fine to leave it at room temperature for 3 or 4 days without stirring.
I wonder if it's going to be okay?
So I thought, "Okay then!" and immediately bought some rice bran paste at the supermarket.
I've often ruined things by pickling them in small containers until now,
This time, I'm using a larger container, like the one my parents used to use at home.
So that it can be thoroughly mixed.
And in our household, we mill brown rice to 30% using a home rice mill,
It's also great that the rice bran produced during this process can now be utilized.
We're now diligently adding more.
I've heard that avocados, boiled eggs, and even Shine Muscat grapes taste delicious when pickled.
I'd like to give it a try.
I hope this can continue for a long time...