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These are not really pickles, but rather a Japanese cucumber salad. This dish received its name of Lazy Pickles from one of my lunch buddies at work, who moved to Toronto from Ukraine a couple of years ago. The food she brings for lunch are amazing treats that seem to come from a time forgotten by most North Americans. She makes her own cheese, cures her own pork and beef, and picks her own vegetables and then pickles them the old fashioned way. I constantly ask her exactly how she made each dish and she always gives me detailed instructions. I brought this cucumber salad to work one day and when I proudly gave her my recipe, her response was, “Oh, these are lazy pickles!”
Oddly enough, this cucumber salad is both Japanese and German. In this Japanese version, I use seasoned rice vinegar and sesame, but our mom’s German version uses watered down white vinegar, sugar, and white pepper. If you prepare this dish to eat immediately, I would categorize it as a salad. When you let the cucumbers sit in the vinegar for a couple of days, it becomes more pickled.
- two large English cucumbers
- ⅓ cup seasoned rice vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil
- sprinkle of black and white sesame seeds
- Slice the cucumbers and place into a large tupperware container, or another container that has a lid. The goal is to slice the cukes as thinly as possible, so I prefer to use a mandolin. It also takes about a fifth of the time and the result is paper-thin slices.
- Pour the vinegar and sesame oil over the cucumbers. Close the lid and turn the container over a couple of times to mix the ingredients together.
- That's it! As a salad, this dish is now ready. To make the more pickled version, marinate the cucumbers overnight in the refrigerator. The pickles also taste great after a few days in the vinegar. Garnish with sesame seeds before serving.
My husband would really like these! Thanks for linking up to Creative K Kid’s Tasty Tuesdays Linky Party. I’ve pinned your post to the Tasty Tuesday’s Pinterest board.
[…] you ever been to a Japanese restaurant and had some of those really yummy thinly sliced cucumber salads? Well these Lazy Pickles are just that! And I am loving […]