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Bettara-zuke ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

  • Tokyo Prefecture

    Bettara-zuke

Bettara-zuke

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  • Main lore areas

    All over Tokyo

  • Main ingredients used

    Radish, rice malt, kombu, sugar, mirin, and salt

  • History/origin/related events

    Bettara-zuke is pickled radish that is pre-pickled in salt and then pickled in rice malt and sugar.
    The origin of bettara-zuke is the lightly pickled radish that was sold at Ebisuko in the Edo period. It is said that it originated when a young man swung the pickles he had bought and tied a rope around to carry them around at a woman, saying, “It will stick.” Pickles made from radish, such as iburi-gakko in Akita and tsubo-zuke in Kagoshima, are found all over the country, and while the pickle culture of each region has been passed down, takuan and bettara-zuke were the pickles loved by the common people in Tokyo. In particular, it is said that the pickle culture flourished during the Edo period, and most people living in the urban areas of Edo no longer made pickles at home, so it was common to buy them at pickle shops. It is said that large households and wealthy merchants’ houses made contracts with farmers in Nerima Village to have them prepare a year's worth of pickles and deliver the required amount as needed. Speaking of radishes in Tokyo, Nerima daikon and Tokoji daikon, which inherited the trend, are famous. Both of them are very spicy and slightly bitter, so it was common to turn them into dried radish for takuan or to use them to make bettara-zuke.
    Bettara-zuke, which uses plenty of rice malt, has an elegant sweetness, and even today, it can be said to be an essential pickle for people's dining tables.

  • Opportunities and times of eating habits

    Because it is prepared together with the harvest of radishes, it was eaten on a daily basis with rice mainly from autumn to winter in the Edo period, but now it is eaten all year round.

  • How to eat

    Peel the radish and cut it in half lengthwise. Sprinkle with salt, place in a pickle container, weigh it down, and leave for a day. When the water comes out, pour it away each time. When the radish becomes soft, dry it for half a day to remove the remaining water. Put the drained radish, rice malt, sugar, mirin, kombu, and red pepper in a pickle container and leave it for one to three days. Cut into the desired size and eat. As the fermentation progresses, it becomes more sour, so store it in the refrigerator after that.

  • Efforts for Preservation and Succession

    (Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)
    At Takarata Ebisu Shrine in Nihonbashi, the traditional event Bettara Ichi, which has been held since the Edo period, is held every year as an autumn tradition, and it bustles with about 20 stalls selling bettara-zuke. Founded in 1930 and known as a purveyor to the Imperial Household Agency, Niitakaya makes and sells bettara-zuke using traditional methods. In addition to Bettara Ichi, it sets up stalls to convey the deliciousness of bettara-zuke at Nihonbashi Shichifukujin Meguri, the Oedo Festival, Meguro’s Sanma Festival, and Asakusa’s Tori no Ichi. In order to convey the deliciousness of Bettara-zuke, stalls are set up at Tori-no-Ichi and other markets. In addition, nowadays, the pickles section of supermarkets offers bettara-zuke made by various pickles manufacturers.

RECIPE

Ingredients (for 1 radish)

  • radishes 1 to 1.5
  • salt 35g
  • [A]amazake 300g
  • [A]An appropriate amount of red pepper

How to cook

  • 1. Peel the radish, cut it in half horizontally, and cut it vertically into quarters.

  • 2. Sprinkle the entire radish with salt, place it in a container, put something heavy on top, and leave it overnight.

  • 3. After one night, drain the water and rinse lightly with water.

  • 4. Combine 3 and [A] in a new container.

  • 5. Seal the container and place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It is ready to serve.

Recipes vary depending on the region and home.

Contact

Food Cultures Office, Overseas Market Development and Food Cultures Division, Food Industry Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Tel:+81-3-3502-5516

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