I judge a proper deli as much by the crispness of its half-sours as by the tenderness of its brisket. Recently, I stumbled upon an easy way to make them using some of the fruits of my nukazuke labor.

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Having corralled some of San Francisco’s wild yeast and soured my own crock of sauerkraut, it was time to move on to my next live food project: nukazuke. I was still a new convert to the Church of Fermentation, but a recent trip to Japantown helped immerse me completely.

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Shaved bonito, planed just like wood from a dried, fermented and smoked fillet of skipjack tuna, is a popular garnish in Japan. Known as katsuobushi, the delicate shavings belie a rich, complex flavor that serves as one of the cornerstones of Japanese cuisine. Paired here with sake’s mouth-fullness, bonito flakes deepen the flavor of this simple, quick pickle.

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This pickle is currently my favorite quick pickle. Astonishing, really, that four naked ingredients can meld together so beautifully, so gently, so easily.

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Browsing the shelves of Kinokuniya Bookstore two weeks ago, after succumbing to a still-warm crepe wrapped folded around strawberries and whipped cream, I found a book that now sits on my kitchen counter with scores of sticky notes shingled out from its pages: Easy Japanese Pickling by Seiko Ogawa (Graph-Sha, 2003). This book is an excellent introduction to the Japanese everyday art of “pickled things.”

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