June is the season for pickling rakkyo.

I always use rakkyo from Tottori prefecture.

Peel them, wash them, and once they’re dry, coat them with salt and let them sit overnight.

Mix sugar and vinegar, heat until just before boiling, pour over the salted rakkyo, and add chili peppers. After about a week, I add the marinade from last year’s pickles. Since the marinade is slightly colored, after about three months, the rakkyo turns a beautiful amber color.

For the past few years, I’ve been preparing rakkyo with my mother at my parents house.

Before that, I would gratefully eat the rakkyo my mother had pickled, but since it became difficult to find good-quality rakkyo near my parents’ house and carrying the heavy rakkyo back home was a struggle, I started buying them myself, and taking them to my parents’ house, and peeling them with my mother.

This time is a very relaxing time for me. I visit my parents’ house often, but this is different.

I am truly grateful for the happiness of being able to do something together with my 88-year-old mother.

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