Japanese Pickled Cabbage (Asazuke)

Colorful mound of asazuke on a plate. Crisp napa cabbage, sallions, and carrots glisten with a red chili adding a bold accent.

This fast, fresh asazuke delivers the crisp, salty crunch of homemade Japanese pickles with just a handful of ingredients and a few hours of pickling time.

Course Condiments & Pickles

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword breakfast, pickled, pickles, quick

Level Beginner

Main Ingredient Vegetable

Diet Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Low Sugar, Low-Carb, Low-Fat, Pescatarian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 5

Pickling Time 1

Total Time 5

Servings servings

Calories 15kcal

Author Marc Matsumoto

Equipment

1 zipper bag

Ingredients

560 grams napa cabbage (about ¼ head, cut into 2-inch pieces)
90 grams carrots (julienned)
30 grams scallions (chopped)
5 grams ginger (minced)
20 grams salt (~1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon)
2-3 dried chili peppers
5 grams konbu (cut into thin strips)

Grams + US Cups - US Standard

Instructions

If you are using a different quantity of vegetables, weigh them, and then multiply that number by .03. This will give you the amount of salt to add. For example, in this recipe, we're using a total of 685 grams of vegetables, so 3% of 685 is about 20 grams of salt.
Toss 560 grams napa cabbage, 90 grams carrots, 30 grams scallions, 5 grams ginger, 20 grams salt, 2-3 dried chili peppers, and 5 grams konbu cut into strips together and pack them into zip-top bags.
560 grams napa cabbage, 90 grams carrots, 30 grams scallions, 5 grams ginger, 20 grams salt, 2-3 dried chili peppers, 5 grams konbu
Press out any excess air from the bag and seal it. Put the bag in a tray and cover with another smaller tray that's weighted down with cans.
The asazuke is ready to eat when the cabbage has released a lot of liquid and has become translucent.

Video

Nutrition