How to Make Salt-Pickled RakkyoPlus Sweet Vinegar, Red Wine and Ume Vinegar Variations

Rakkyo are small, crisp bulbs related to onions and shallots, sometimes called Japanese pickling shallots or Chinese onions. In Japan, sweet vinegar rakkyo are a classic side for curry rice. Fresh rakkyo appear for just a few weeks in May and June. Outside Japan, they’re occasionally sold fresh at Japanese or Asian grocery stores in early summer.

This is our recipe for homemade salt-pickled rakkyo. It needs few ingredients and is ready in a week. Fresh, crunchy homemade rakkyo are addictive.

Once you have salt-pickled rakkyo, you can turn them into sweet vinegar, ume vinegar or red wine pickles.

When to make	May–June
Time	Salt pickles: 1 week. Variations: another 4–5 days
Storage	Move to jars when done and refrigerate

Ingredients and tools

We used 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) of rakkyo.

• 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) rakkyo
• 60 g (2 oz) coarse salt
• 1 dried red chili, seeds removed
• 400 ml (1⅔ cups) water
• 1 large zip-top bag
• A colander
• A bowl
• Paper towels

How to make salt-pickled rakkyo

Rakkyo sprout quickly, so pickle them as soon as you buy them. For reference, 500 g cost us 540 yen including tax.

Make the brine

Put the water and coarse salt in a pot and heat, stirring, until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

Wash the rakkyo

Put the rakkyo in a bowl and quickly rub off the thin outer skins under running water.

Separate any bulbs that are stuck together. Drain in a colander.

Trim the tops and roots

Cut off the tops and roots. Remove any thin skin that’s still left.

Rinse again and drain in a colander.

Dry them

Pat them carefully dry with paper towels.

Put everything in the bag

When everything is ready, put the rakkyo, red chili and brine into the zip-top bag, in that order.

Standing the bag in a bowl keeps it from spilling.

Seal the bag

Press out the air and seal, and you’re done. Lay it flat in a cool, dark place, and turn it over once a day to mix.

After a week, when fine bubbles from fermentation appear, they’re ready. They’re very salty as they are, so soak them in water for 8 hours or more to remove some salt before eating.

Rakkyo have a strong smell, so once the salt pickles are done, we recommend moving them to a jar and keeping them in the fridge.

Variations

Once your salt-pickled rakkyo are done, try these variations. They look pretty and give you a range of flavors.

We used WECK Tulip Shape 500 ml jars.

Preparation

Before making the variations, soak the salt-pickled rakkyo in water for 8 hours or more to remove some of the salt.

Sweet vinegar rakkyo

Ingredients

• 100 g (3½ oz) salt-pickled rakkyo, desalted
• 4 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp kibi sugar (raw cane sugar)
• 2 tsp mirin
• ½ dried red chili, seeds removed

Method

1. Desalt the rakkyo, pat them thoroughly dry, and put them in a jar.
2. Bring the vinegar, sugar and mirin to a boil in a stainless steel or enamel pot. When the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat, let cool, and pour into the jar with the chili.
3. Keep in a cool, dark place and shake once a day. Ready in 4–5 days.

Red wine rakkyo

Ingredients

• 100 g (3½ oz) salt-pickled rakkyo, desalted
• 3 tbsp red wine
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey

Method

1. Desalt the rakkyo, pat them thoroughly dry, and put them in a jar.
2. Put the red wine, apple cider vinegar and honey in a stainless steel or enamel pot. When it boils, turn off the heat, let cool, and pour into the jar.
3. Keep in a cool, dark place and shake once a day. Ready in 4–5 days.

Ume vinegar rakkyo

Umezu (ume vinegar) is a by-product of making umeboshi. Don’t throw it away; use it to pickle rakkyo and myoga.

Ingredients

• 100 g (3½ oz) salt-pickled rakkyo, desalted
• 2 tbsp umezu (store-bought ume plum vinegar is fine)
• 3 tbsp mirin

Method

1. Desalt the rakkyo, pat them thoroughly dry, and put them in a jar.
2. Pour the umezu and mirin into the jar.
3. Keep in a cool, dark place and shake once a day. Ready in 4–5 days.