kohlrabi misozuke
crunchy + deeply umami
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."
Kenji Morimoto•
September 5, 2025
Kohlrabi Misozuke is a variety of misozuke, or Japanese tsukemono where the mode of pickling is miso.
"Zuke" means to pickle in Japanese. So Miso - zuke, pickled in miso, get it?
Many varieties of veg will work with this type of pickling however the way in which you prepare the veg (surface area!) + the amount of time in the pickling bed will be the two variables to balance. A carrot slice will take more time than a piece of cabbage - both will work, but the timing will vary based on the structure of the veg.
But with many of my recipes, you'll be the judge to know when you're happy with the flavour but I'm going for deeply savoury + crunchy. The type of pickles you can appreciate just with a simple bowl of rice. That said, I recently served these alongside some kimchi toasties and it was fantastic.
Misozuke contains multitudes - some methods just use miso as the pickling bed, others, such as the one below, is sweeter and flavoured with kombu + ginger. Like it spicy? Throw in a whole dried chilli pepper. But start basic and then start playing around with flavours.
Ingredients (6)
Ingredients (6)
Instructions
Make the miso pickling paste by mixing together all ingredients (barring the prepared kohlrabi) in a bowl.
In a clean glass container, layer the kohlrabi pieces and the miso pickling paste and ensure that the top layer is covered in the miso pickling paste. Cover this top layer with a piece of cling film or parchment paper to minimise oxygen exposure before putting on the lid.
Leave this at room temperature for 1-2 days; during this time, you'll notice water gathering in the container which is a good sign. Feel free to taste it as you want. Note that when you taste the kohlrabi misozuke, rinse or wipe off the residual miso paste. This will be salty.
Once you're happy with the flavour, move it to the fridge where it will continue to pickle, albeit at a slower pace.
Notes
Notes
Wipe / rinse your kohlrabi misozuke pieces before you eat them. The miso paste is expectedly very salty. You may enjoy that - so you be the judge! Leftover miso paste can be used for marinades, dressings, or a starter for your next batch of misozuke.
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