Recipe
Quick Vegetable Pickles with Ume Vinegar
Ume vinegar, the brine left from making umeboshi, turns vegetables into bright, tangy quick pickles.
Ume Recipes
Ume Recipes
Umeboshi, ume vinegar and ume jam in everyday cooking: easy Western-style ideas and Japanese classics.
How to cook with ume
- Think of umeboshi as salt and acid in one: in dressings or pasta it can replace salt and lemon.
- Pit and chop umeboshi so they blend into any dish. Add a little at a time and taste as you go.
- Ume vinegar (the brine from making umeboshi) works like vinegar and salt together, for pickles and salads.
- If the sourness is too strong for you, start with milder honey umeboshi.
Easy Western-style recipes
Recipe
Ume and Avocado Dip
Mash avocado with umeboshi: the ume adds the tang usually given by lemon. A dip for vegetables or crackers.
Recipe
Ume and Tomato Bruschetta
Chopped tomato with umeboshi and olive oil on toasted baguette: an easy starter with a Japanese twist.
Recipe
Ume Butter Soy Pasta
Umeboshi, butter and soy sauce make an easy Japanese-style pasta, a gentle introduction to umeboshi.
Recipe
Umeboshi Dressing
Umeboshi, olive oil and honey: a quick dressing for salads, cold pork or grilled fish.
Recipe
Ripe Ume Jam
A fragrant jam from yellow, ripe ume, for yogurt, toast or even sauces for meat.
Japanese classics
Recipe
Basic Ume-Shiso Onigiri
The most familiar ume recipe: rice balls mixed with chopped umeboshi and shiso leaves, so the sourness spreads gently.
Recipe
Chilled Somen with Ume Dipping Sauce
Chop umeboshi into noodle sauce for a refreshing, tangy dip for chilled somen.
Recipe
Chicken Breast with Ume and Shiso
Umeboshi and shiso make lean chicken breast fresh and tasty. A one-pan main dish.
Recipe
Ume Chazuke (Rice with Tea)
Umeboshi on rice with hot tea poured over: an easy dish for days with little appetite.
Recipe
Cold Pork Shabu-shabu with Ume and Grated Daikon
Boiled pork topped with grated daikon mixed with umeboshi: a light main dish for summer.
Recipe
Ume Syrup from Green Plums
Layer green ume with rock sugar and wait: ume syrup, diluted with water or soda, is a great first ume project.
Recipe
Sardines Simmered with Umeboshi
Simmering sardines with umeboshi softens their fishy taste. A traditional home-style dish.
Recipe
Umeboshi for Beginners: Types and How to Eat Them
Plain salted, red shiso or honey — the main kinds of umeboshi and easy ways to try them.
Recipe
Four Ways to Enjoy Umeshu
On the rocks, with soda, with hot water or in cooking — plus the basic home recipe and the Japanese liquor-tax rules to know before you make your own.
Umeboshi, ume vinegar and pickling tools
Umeboshi and ume vinegar vary a lot in saltiness. If you are watching your salt, adjust the amount.