Red Shiso Umeboshi, Salt-Cured and Sun-Dried Japanese Ume

What you need

• 1 kg (2.2 lb) ripe yellow ume plums, unblemished, just softening
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) shochu, 35% alcohol or stronger, plus extra for wiping the crock
• 180 g (2/3 cup) coarse sea salt, 18% of the plum weight
• 1 bunch red shiso, red perilla leaves, about 200 g (7 oz) on the stem
• 2 tbsp coarse sea salt, for the shiso

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Wash a ceramic or enamel crock about twice the volume of the plums, scald it with boiling water, let it dry, then wipe the inside with a little shochu.

2. 2

   Rinse the ume gently under running water, without bruising them, and discard any with deep cuts.

3. 3

   Pick out the little stem nubs with a toothpick, then dry each plum thoroughly with a clean cloth, stem end included. Any water left on them invites mould.

4. 4

   Toss the ume with the shochu in a bowl.

5. 5

   Scatter a handful of salt over the bottom of the crock. Layer in the plums and salt, using more salt towards the top, and finish with a layer of salt.

6. 6

   Set a flat plate or drop lid on top and a weight of about the same weight as the plums. Cover the crock with paper, tie it down and keep it in a cool, dark place.

7. 7

   Check after 2-3 days: clear brine, called umezu, should rise. Once it covers the ume, halve the weight so the plums are not crushed.

8. 8

   About a week after salting, pick the shiso leaves off the stems, wash them well and squeeze dry.

9. 9

   Rub the leaves in a bowl with half of the salt for the shiso until dark purple juice runs out. Squeeze hard and throw the juice away. Repeat with the rest of the salt.

10. 10

    Loosen the squeezed shiso with a ladle of the plum brine, then spread it over the ume. The brine turns red and the plums colour within 2-3 days.

11. 11

    Re-cover and leave in the cool, dark place for about a month in all. Skim off any spots of mould on the brine with a clean ladle, and wipe any mouldy plum with shochu.

12. 12

    On a run of sunny days, lift the ume out of the brine and spread them on a bamboo tray or rack set off the ground, with the shiso alongside. Strain the brine into a clean jar and keep it somewhere cool for up to a year, for pickling or seasoning.

13. 13

    Dry them in full sun for 3 days, turning them 3-4 times. Bring them in on the first two nights and leave them out overnight on the third.

14. 14

    They are done when the skins are dry and wrinkled and can be pinched up thinly. Pack into a clean, airtight jar with the shiso and store in a cool, dark place. They mellow over the following months.

Imported from daidokolog.pal-system.co.jp. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.