The hardest thing about making your own pickled rakkyo is finding the key ingredient.
The tiny onions used in the traditional Japanese condiment officially are called allium chinense. Unofficially they are called Chinese or Japanese scallions, rakkyo or sometimes rankyo.
The real deal can occasionally be found at farmers markets or in Chinatown, but most people who tell me they make the pickles say they also grow their own rakkyo or know someone who does. Or they substitute the biggest green onion bulbs they can find, or pearl onions, or just slice up regular onions.
Whatever the challenges, Ken Ching wants to give it a try. “It is so ono but so expensive — for the amount I eat — that it would be cheaper if I could make my own.”
Ed Wada responded to Ching’s request with recipes from his mother, Louise Wada, 75, of Gardena, Calif. He said she always made her own pickles, even umeboshi, or pickled plum. “My dad always liked to eat, and my mom always liked to cook. … I didn’t know most moms didn’t make their own umeboshi.”
These are her recipes for salty and sweet-sour rakkyo, followed by a simpler version from Masa Nakamura of Hilo that has long been enjoyed by Nakamura’s friends and family.
SHIOTSUKE (SALTED) RAKKYO
2 pounds rakkyo
>> Brine:6 tablespoons salt
3 red Japanese peppers (togarashi)
6-1/2 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar
3/4 cup water
Rinse rakkyo in water. Trim top portion and peel off one or two layers. Put in a container (stoneware is best).
Combine brine ingredients and stir to dissolve salt. Pour over rakkyo. Cover with a plate, then place a weight on the plate to press down rakkyo. Cure 10 to 14 days at room temperature before eating.
AMAZU (SWEET VINEGAR) RAKKYO
1-3/4 pounds shiotsuke rakkyo (preceding recipe)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon Japanese rice vinegar
>> Syrup:
1-1/2 to 2 cups rice vinegar
1 to 2 cups sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons mirin
2 Japanese peppers (togarashi)
Soak rakkyo in water a couple of hours. Drain.
Coat rakkyo in salt and vinegar. Place in bamboo basket and dry in shady spot for a day.
Bring syrup ingredients to boil; cool. Pour over rakkyo and refrigerate 10 to 14 days.
EASY RAKKYO
2 pounds cleaned rakkyo
1/4 cup sea salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/4 cup Japanese rice vinegar
Crushed chili peppers, to taste
Place rakkyo in sealable plastic bag, add salt and shake well. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, rinse well; dry throughly. Place in sterilized jars (will fill two 1-quart jars).
Bring sugar and vinegar to boil; stir to dissolve sugar. Cool to room temperature. Add chili peppers. Pour mixture over rakkyo. Refrigerate.
Nutritional information unavailable.
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