How to Make Garlic Pickled in Soy SauceReady in a Month

Ninniku shoyu-zuke, garlic pickled in soy sauce, is a classic Japanese home preserve.

It needs only two ingredients and no effort beyond putting them in a jar. Eat the cloves as they are, chop them as a seasoning, or cook with them. The soy sauce takes on the garlic’s flavor and is great in cooking too.

When to make	All year (new-season garlic in early summer)
Time	About 1 month
Storage	See “Storage” below

Ingredients and tools

We used three heads of garlic. The jar is Muji’s 750 ml soda glass sealed jar.

• 3 heads garlic (150 g / 5⅓ oz)
• 300 ml (1¼ cups) soy sauce
• A storage jar

How to make it

Sterilize the jar

Sterilize the jar in boiling water and let it dry completely.

Prepare the garlic

Peel the outer skin from the garlic, and remove the thin skin on each clove and the hard root end.

Fill the jar

Put the garlic in the jar, then pour in the soy sauce.

All set!

Storage

In Japan, this is traditionally kept in a cool, dark place, and moved to the fridge once opened. Shake the jar now and then to mix. It’s ready after about a month.

Because garlic is a low-acid food, we recommend keeping it in the fridge from the start to be safe, and using it within about a year. Use a clean spoon to take garlic out, and throw it away if you see mold or notice an off smell.