Pickling cucumbers in rice bran

 Pickling vegetables is not only a way to make them delicious but to preserve them for longer. As many cucumbers are harvested, I've been eager to make "糠漬け (Nukazuke)", one of the Japanese traditional pickled vegetables in rice bran. When I was a child, my mother or my grandma got tons of rice bran for free from a local rice shop since rice bran was seen as just by-product at that time. Many Japanese households had their own taste of the Nukazuke with adding variety seasonings to rice bran.

 Now we can buy a packed rice bran, which is specialized for the pickled vegetables, mixed with salt, pepper, and other seasonings in local shops and I also tried it.

 First, I have to make "a rice bran bed" for cucumber to be pickled there. Add water to the rice bran and mix them up with hands to make it sticky. We have to care amount of water to be added since too much water make the bed too watery.

 When the rice bran bed is completed, put cucumbers onto the bed and,,,,,

cover them fully with the rice bran and keep it in a fridge for a few days.

 After 2 days, I found water coming out of cucumbers in a cup inside the Tupperware which shows the cucumbers had been pickled well and ready to be served. 

  The taste was moderately salty, juicy and very crispy! They go well with steamed rice but my favorite way to enjoy pickled cucumbers is to eat them with cold beer!