Pickled Herring Fish and Vegetables with Rice Koji
A simple pickled herring with rice koji recipe that can be done in a short period of time. Unlike lightly pickled vegetables, pickled herring is a pickle that have the smell and acidity of herring fish. If you don't like the smell of fish, you can still try this recipe as lightly pickled vegetables without adding herring fish!
Soak the dried herring fish in the water that has been used to wash rice for a day to rehydrate it. The water that has been used to wash rice contains a fatty ingredient called "bran", which has the effect of removing harshness and bitterness from the fish, and bringing out sweetness and umami.
Cut the vegetables. Cut cabbage into bite-sized pieces, carrots and ginger into shredded pieces.
Add the salt to the chopped vegetables, then mix them and leave for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the vegetables are hydrated.
Stir the vegetables upside down with hand or spoon/laddle, and leave for another 30 minutes.
Now, it's one hour after adding the salt. Put all the mixed vegetables along with the water that comes out from the vegetables in a storage ziplock bag, remove the air, and put in the refrigerator overnight.
Day 2
In the second day, put the rice koji in lukewarm water (50-60 ℃), and soak it for about 30 minutes to to rehydrate it. After 30 minutes, drain the excess water with a colander.
Take out the abdominal bones of the hydrated herring, and cut into bite-sized pieces. It's a small bone, so if you don't mind it, you can leave it as it is.
Put the pickled vegetables, cut herring, and rice koji in a bowl and mix them thoroughly. Do not throw away the water from the vegetables and just put it in the bowl.
When the rice koji is all over the vegetables, put it back in the storage bag, deflate it, and put it in the refrigerator for another 1-2 days.
After 1-2 days, the pickled herring and vegetables are completed! If you eat it soon, you can eat it as lightly pickled herring and vegetables without sourness.