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What is Shibazuke?
Shibazuke is a traditional Japanese pickle (tsukemono) that originates from Kyoto. In fact, it is considered one of the three great pickles of Kyoto alongside sugukizuke (made with local turnip greens pickled in salt) and senmaizuke (turnips pickled with salt, kombu and red chili), and is one of the most popular pickles in Japan.
It is typically made with eggplants, cucumbers and myoga (Japanese ginger) traditionally lacto-fermented with salt, and red perilla leaves called aka shiso which gives it the iconic purple color. Red shiso is difficult to find outside of Japan, but you can still make beautiful and delicious shibazuke without them.
By pickling the vegetables with red ume vinegar (the juices extracted from ume plums), you can skip the lacto-fermenting process and enjoy homemade shibazuke in just a few days! Although some of these ingredients can be difficult to find, I’ve listed alternatives in the section below.
Shibazuke is the perfect pickle to serve as a side or appetizer alongside a Japanese-style meal. It is also common to enjoy it with ochazuke or cut it up and mix it with rice to make onigiri (rice balls). However you choose to enjoy it, I hope you love this shortcut shibazuke recipe!
How I Developed This Recipe
If you’ve followed my recipes for a while, you might notice that I’m pretty impatient when it comes to pickles. I just want to eat them as soon as possible!
For this recipe, I not only wanted to skip the lacto fermenting process (weeks of drawing out enough water to create their own brine), but also make the recipe more accesible. Luckily, ume plum vinegar saved the day on this one and is available to buy online or in well stocked Japanese supermarkets.
These homemade shibazuke are easy to make, relatively quick and really taste great. They’re one of my favorite pickle recipes I’ve made so far and I hope you enjoy them too!
Key Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Eggplant: For best results, opt for Japanese or Chinese eggplants that are known for their mild and delicate flavor.
- Cucumber: Again, Japanese cucumbers work best for this recipe as they tend to be less watery and have less seeds than larger varieties. Persian cucumbers should also work.
- Japanese ginger: Known in Japanese as “myoga”, this member of the ginger family has a mild ginger flavor, zesty tang and crunchy texture making it a really nice addition to shibazuke. If it’s not accessible where you live, you can replace it with extra eggplant or cucumber.
- Ginger root: I like to add a small amount of ginger root to my shibazuke for more depth, but again is optional.
- Salt: Coarse sea salt not only draws the excess moisture out of the vegetables but also enhances their flavor and helps preserve them.
- Sugar: Regular white sugar (granulated or caster) will add sweetness and lengthen shelf life.
- Red ume vinegar: Also known as plum vinegar or “umezu” in Japanese, this unique vinegar is a byproduct of umeboshi, where the juices are extracted using salt and then colored with red shiso (perilla) leaves. This ingredient is vital for both the flavor and appearance of the dish, and is where shibazuke gets its vibrant color. You can find red ume vinegar on Amazon (affiliate link). If you can’t get hold of it, red wine vinegar would be the closest substitute, but you might need to increase the salt.
- Perilla leaves: I like to add shredded green perilla leaves for a refreshing and slightly herby flavor. If available, adding red perilla leaves will intensify the color of your shibazuke. You can also use leftover leaves from umeboshi if you happen to make your own.
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Jump to Full Recipe Measurements
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make homemade Shibazuke pickles. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
This section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cooking steps and techniques with visuals. It also includes more in-depth tips and tricks and explains why I do what I do.
Start by filling a bowl with cold water and adding a pinch of salt.
Wash your eggplant, cut off the ends and slice it in half (or quarters if particularly large) lengthways. Cut into slices, about 3mm thick.
As you cut, place the slices in the bowl of water to help prevent and discoloring.
Soak in the bowl for 20 minutes, this will improve the flavor of the eggplant and remove any bitterness.
Since making sushi ginger (gari) and red pickled ginger (benishoga), I’ve become a big fan of blanching the ginger before pickling it. It mellows out the spiciness and gives it a really pleasant flavor.
Start boiling a small pot of water.
While you wait, scrap off the skin of the ginger root using a spoon, this will help you get into the crevices. Then slice it as thin as you can and drop it into the boiling water.
Drain the water and rinse the ginger slices under cold water to cool them down.
Once the ginger is cool enough to touch, cut the slices into matchsticks. Thinly slice the myoga and perilla leaves.
Since all of these ingredients have strong flavors, they should be cut smaller to help evenly distribute them throughout the rest of the pickles.
Wash the cucumber, cut off the ends and scoop out the seeds in the middle.
Slice 3mm thick (the same as the eggplant).
Drain the eggplants and place them in a large dry bowl with the rest of the vegetables. Sprinkle them with salt.
Massage the salt until all the vegetables are evenly covered.
Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the vegetables.
Then cover with a plate and a heavy object that weighs about double the weight of the vegetables. I used a 1kg bag of salt.
Rest in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and squeeze the vegetables as hard as you can to remove the excess moisture.
Discard the liquid and place the vegetables in a sealable freezer bag.
Add the sugar and red ume vinegar to the bag and massage until evenly covered.
If using red perilla leaves, make sure to scrub them with salt and wash them before placing them in the bag.
Push the air out of the bag and seal it. Place flat down in a wide container to keep the ingredients submerged and prevent leaks.
Rest in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Squeeze the pickles and discard the leftover pickling liquid. Transfer the shibazuke to a clean, airtight container and enjoy!
How to Store
Once shibazuke have been removed from their pickling vinegar and stored in a sealed container, they can be kept in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
Make sure to label the container so it’s easy to keep track of when they were made, and throw them out if they have visible mold or an unpleasant aroma.
Unfortunately, freezing will ruin the texture of these pickles and is not recommended.
FAQ
Shibazuke is a refreshing pickle with a well balanced salty, slightly sour flavor.
Shibazuke is usually pickled with red shiso leaves to achieve its vibrant color. Since red shiso can be difficult to come by outside of Japan, this recipe only uses red ume vinegar which results in a lighter color.
If you’re familiar with Japanese pickles, you might know about red fukujinzuke pickles that are commonly served with curry. Shibazuke are pickled in vinegar and have more of a sour flavor, whereas fukujinzuke contains a wider variety of vegetables and has a sweeter, saltier flavor thanks to its soy sauce based brine.
I hope you enjoy this homemade shibazuke pickles recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Tsukemono Recipes
If you’re interested in Japanese pickles, check out some of my other recipes:
Homemade Shibazuke Pickles
Ingredients
- 200 g eggplant Japanese or Chinese
- 10 g ginger root
- 50 g myoga (Japanese ginger)
- 5 perilla (shiso) leaves
- 100 g Japanese or Persian cucumber
- 9 g sea salt
- 10 g sugar
- 45 ml red plum vinegar
- red perilla leaves (optional) rubbed with salt and washed
Instructions
- Fill a bowl with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Mix well. Cut the ends off of 200 g eggplant and cut in half or quarters lengthways. Cut into 3mm slices and place them in the water as you go to prevent discoloration.
- Soak the eggplant slices for 20 minutes.
- While you wait, bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Scrape the skin of 10 g ginger root with the edge of a spoon, then thinly slice. Blanch in the hot water for 30 seconds, then drain and rinse with cold water to quickly cool.
- Thinly slice the blanched ginger, 50 g myoga and 5 perilla (shiso) leaves.
- Wash 100 g Japanese or Persian cucumber and cut off the ends. Cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
- Cut the cucumber into 3mm slices (the same as the eggplant).
- Drain the eggplant and place it in a large dry bowl. Add the rest of the cut vegetables, then add 9 g sea salt.
- Massage until evenly covered.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the vegetables, then weigh it down with a plate and a weight. Rest in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, squeeze the vegetables thoroughly and discard the accumulated liquid.
- Transfer the vegetables to a sealable freezer bag and add 10 g sugar and 45 ml red plum vinegar. If available, you can add a few red perilla leaves for a more intense color.
- Massage the bag until the ingredients are evenly coated, then push the air out and seal. Place the bag in a square container so that it lays flat and prevents leaks. Rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 days.
- Drain the pickles and squeeze out any excess liquid. Transfer to a sterilized airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
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