is a Japanese pickling

Pickling

Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...

 method characterized by its short preparation time. The word asazuke can also refer to the items pickled in this manner.

Because of its short preparation time, asazuke generally lacks the pungency created by other, more lengthy pickling methods but retains more of the fresh taste of the vegetable. Commonly used vegetables include daikon

Daikon

Daikon , Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also called White Radish, Japanese radish, Oriental radish, Chinese radish, lo bok and Mooli , is a mild flavoured, very large, white East Asian radish...

, hakusai, cucumber

Cucumber

The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...

s, or eggplant. Asazuke is usually prepared by rubbing the cut vegetables with salt and placing in a sealed bag or other sealed container along with such items as sliced kombu

Kombu

Kombu or konbu , also called dashima or haidai , is edible kelp from the family Laminariaceae widely eaten in East Asia....

 or chili peppers. Instead of salt, asazuke can also be prepared with vinegar, nuka

Nukazuke

are a type of Japanesepickle, made by fermenting vegetables in rice bran . Almost any edible vegetable may be pickled through this technique,though traditional varieties include eggplant, Japanese radish ,...

, or a pickling solution that is sold in stores. Sufficient pickling times range anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours.

Asazuke has become a very popular method of pickling in Japanese households due to its ease of preparation. It is second only behind kimchi

Kimchi

Kimchi , also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber. It is the most common...

in terms of commercial production of pickled goods in Japan.