Pickled vegetables such as fukujinzuke and crunchy rakkyo are an excellent side dish to your Japanese meal, especially Japanese curry! Try some the next time you make or order curry, and you won't be disappointed!

Curry has a long (and delicious) history in Japan. You can enjoy Japanese curry with rice, noodles, or even as a soup. It’s very flavorful, but you can upgrade it by pairing with pickled vegetables such as fukujinzuke and rakkyo. If you would like to try this unique side, read on to learn more.

What Is Fukujinzuke?

The first accompaniment to consider is known as fukujinzuke. This chutney-like dish is made from vegetables that are chopped fine and pickled in soy sauce, sugar and spices. This pickles remain slightly crunchy and have a gentle sweetness that is the perfect complement to Japanese curry.

It typically includes seven different types of vegetables. What else in Japanese culture has seven different things? Shinto culture’s group of seven gods of fortune (Shichi Fukujin). Thus, this dish has a name “Fukujin” and the Japanese word for pickles, zuke.

Master soy sauce-based pickling and marinating.