Umeboshi are pickled ume fruits common in Japan. The word umeboshi is often translated into English as 'salted Japanese plums', 'Japanese plums' or 'preserved plums'. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a "plum", but is actually more closely related to the apricot.
INGREDIENTS
All you need for my umeboshi recipe is THREE ingredients:
Ume plums
Sea salt
Aka shiso herb (red perilla)
HOW TO MAKE UMEBOSHI
1. Clean
Making Japanese pickled plums is straightforward. One thing you need to pay attention is to keep all the container and utensils clean and hygienic to ensure longer preservation. You need to wash hands properly.
Make sure the ziploc bags and utensils are all clean. Soak the kitchen paper with it, and wipe out inside of the ziploc bags. If they are not clean enough, it may cause mould to grow on the ingredients.
2. Mix
Sea salt and umeboshi are mixed together and rested in the ziploc bags for one week. Make the bag doubled in case the plum vinegar leaks. Plums release vinegar, umezu, with a weight. This helps to intensify nutrition and prevents mould.
Remove the excessive plum vinegar with a large spoon from the bag. The plum vinegar should be enough to just cover the plums.
After mixing up plums with salt, water is released in the ziploc bag a week later or less. It's plum vinegar, umezu. The plum vinegar should cover the plums. This helps to prevent moulding. The excess of umezu can be removed and kept in the fridge.
3. Coloring
The secret of vivid red plum colour is red perilla leaves. The importance is to rub them with salt well and remove the foam of the plant to remove the bitterness. If you skip this process, the colours will not be as bright and red.
The red umezu can also be used to add the intense colour to Japanese pickled red ginger, beni shoga.
4. Dry
The pickled salty plums and red perilla need to be dried in the direct sunlight for 'three days' after mixing them in the ziplock bag. So make sure that you will have the three continuous sunny days with the weather forecast in advance.
Remove them from the plum vinegar ziplock bags and dry them from 9 am to 4 pm in the direct sunlight. It's important to keep them inside during the evening. Turn over each plum with clean fingers or chopsticks. As they are rather sticky, turn over them in the morning. This helps their skins not to be sticking on the sieve.
5. Store
After drying pickled salty plums, they now have wrinkles and salt on their surface. Transfer them into a glass jar or ceramic container. Add plum vinegar and dried red perilla.
You can now eat umeboshi, but if you keep them further three months, they become less salty and milder. You will love the salty, vinegary, rich umeboshi.
That's it! Serve!
HOW TO USE UMEBOSHI
These pickled plums can be served with lots of dishes – from salads, to rice bowls, or as a side dish or appetizer. They are delicious and, frankly, addictive! Try to keep it to one per day.
RECIPES WITH UMEBOSHI
Ume chazuke (Japan's soul food, green tea poured over rice with umeboshi)
Umeboshi dressing (umeboshi, olive oil and black pepper served with fresh vegetables)
Umeboshi sauce (used for any cooking by mixing up with other seasonings)
Okayu (topping umeboshi on Japanese rice porridge)
Umeboshi paste (pureed umeboshi, can be grilled, steamed or deep fried with various ingredients)
Umeboshi has anti-bacterial effects. This is why it is:
Umeboshi are pickled ume fruits common in Japan. The word umeboshi is often translated into English as 'salted Japanese plums', 'Japanese plums' or 'preserved plums'. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a "plum", but is actually more closely related to the apricot.
