Nukazuke Report: Uri Nukazuke Onigiri
Itadakimono: Early spring is the time to enjoy uri, a cucumber-like gourd that is in season here for just a few weeks. The only way I know to eat this vegetable is as tsukemono. In March and April, I often go to Nishiri to buy their uri that is simply and lightly pickled with salt. The other morning I got a call from Kichisen telling me that the boss had some fresh uri from me, so come on over and pick them up. It turns out that it was an entire box! As we are making homemade pickles now, I am putting these beautiful uri to good use.
Fresh ‘Cucumbery’ Uri Tsukemono
Uri is best lightly pickled, so I buried several in nuka and in less that 24 hours removed, washed and sliced them for our onigiri lunches tomorrow.
Uri is quite ‘cucumbery’, fresh and ‘springy’. The idea is that even though they are pickled, they should still taste very just off the vine fresh. The pungent taste and sourness of the nuka quickly penetrated the uri, it was the perfect balance of early spring fresh veggie with sour and pungency. The flesh is still firm and crunchy.
I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow! Hidden inside my recently perfected mixture of white rice, 30% milled brown rice, rolled oats and gokokumai, simmered in well water, sake, kombu and a dash of salt and wrapped in nori is uri nukazuke.
Itadakimono: Spring Pickling Vegetable Uri
Spring Pickling Vegetable Uri Washed and Ready for Pickling
Spring Pickling Vegetable Uri Washed and Ready for Pickling
Note beagle for scale.
Uri Split and Seeds Removed
Burying Uri in Nuka
Day Two
Uri in Nuka
Digging out the Uri
Uri Nukazuke Ready for Washing
Uri Washed and Slicing
Making Onigiri for Tomorrow’s Lunch
Making Uri Nukazuke Onigiri
Making Uri Nukazuke Onigiri
Uri Nukazuke Onigiri Served (with Kasuzuke Sujiko Ikura Onigiri)
I love pickles and onigiri! What a great combo? Your version of pickles looks delicious too. BTW, these are the cutest baby cucumbers I’ve ever seen. They are nice looking and their color and texture are so beautiful. I hope you will put more onigiri-inspired recipes. Thanks for a great post!
great post, but i think the best part is using your beagle for scale. LOL!
I love the “beagle for scale” too! and the pickled uri looks so appetizing. In the US it is so hard to find good fresh tsukemono, which is unfortunate as it is great with cold sake =)
We just got some Uri from our friend’s farm. We pickled them in our Nukadoko and I think they are the best pickles we have made so far.
Raw Uri tastes like a very bland melon, but after pickling the taste of the nuka really comes through. Unfortunately we devoured them very quickly and will have to wait until next year for another shipment.