crunchy cucumber pickles
きゅうりのポリポリ漬け - crunchy, munching, and oh so delicious
Kenji Morimoto•
Oct 1, 2025
This cucumber tsukemono is a variety of shoyuzuke, or pickled in a soy sauce based brine. As with many of these pickles, there's a beautiful balance of acid from the apple cider vinegar, sweetness from mirin (and of course, the sugar), and umami from the soy. The aromatics are strong with this one - add more to your own personal taste.
Note the type of cucumbers I used for this - larger water bound varieties are not ideal (usually also have thicker skin and more seeds). Also, you'll note that I used a paper towel when pickling - this is a common Japanese trick to keep everything submerged to ensure a more consistent brining.
Kenji Morimoto is a London-based Japanese American food writer and content creator who specializes in fermentation. He draws from his cultural heritage to teach, write, and share culinary knowledge through various platforms, including his popular Instagram @kenjcooks and his upcoming book "Ferment."
Ingredients (9)
Ingredients (9)
Instructions
In a bowl, salt the prepared cucumbers for a few hours and upwards to overnight. Keep the salty brine from the cucumbers.
For the brine, mix all of the other ingredients in a small pan over low heat and remove once the sugar dissolves. Let this cool slightly before pouring it on top of the cucumbers. The brine does not need to be cool and can be poured on when warm.
Let this pickle in the fridge for at least one day and enjoy!
Notes
Notes
The brine is equal parts of the four ingredients - You may need to make more depending on the container size you use.
Like most pickles - these will last indefinitely BUT will become watery with time. I tend to eat these within two weeks.
