Fukujinzuke (Relish of the Seven Lucky Gods)

By Sonoko Sakai

Fukujinzuke are tangy and crunchy pickles that match perfectly with Japanese curry but also are delicious with plain rice. This pickle consists of seven vegetables—daikon radish, carrot, cucumber, eggplant, burdock, lotus, and ginger—but you don’t have to make this pickle with all seven if you have trouble finding any of them. You can use mushrooms and other vegetables if you like (but no leafy greens). The tanginess comes from a sweet-and-sour vinegar sauce. Allow these pickles to marinate in this sauce for 1 or 2 days for best flavor. The name fukujin is derived from the Seven Lucky Gods of prosperity, abundance, dignity, beauty, wisdom, longevity, and protection.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

FOR THE SAUCE
1 dried Japanese or Italian (Calabrian) red chile, seeded and chopped
½ cup (120 ml) soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
¼ cup (60 ml) mirin
1 tablespoon cane sugar
2 tablespoons sake

8 ounces (230 g) daikon radish, peeled and quartered lengthwise, then diced ¼ inch (6 mm) thick
4 ounces (115 g) lotus root, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and quartered lengthwise, then diced ¼ inch (6 mm) thick
2 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in 1 cup of water overnight in the refrigerator, if using dried shiitakes), sliced ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick
1 Japanese eggplant, sliced lengthwise, then diced ¼-inch (6 mm) thick
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
1 Japanese or Persian cucumber, diced ¼ inch (6 mm) thick

In a medium saucepan, combine the chile, soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, sugar, and sake and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the daikon radish, lotus root, carrot, mushrooms, eggplant, and ginger and bring to a second boil over medium heat; boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cucumbers. Let stand for 2 minutes, then strain the vegetables through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, reserving the liquid. Return the liquid to the pot and bring it to a third boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and let cool.

Transfer the pickled vegetables into a glass jar with a lid and pour the liquid over the vegetables. Stir with a spoon. Bring to room temperature then cover with a lid and let the vegetables pickle in the liquid in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days before using. Store in the refrigerator, where your Seven Lucky Gods will keep for up to 2 weeks.

From Japanese Home Cooking by Sonoko Sakai. © 2019 Sonoko Sakai. Photographs © 2019 by Rick Poon. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.