Direction

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and salt. Stir until the salt is dissolved and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature before using.
2. In a large wok or saute pan over medium-low heat, lightly toast the bran until fragrant. Stir it around frequently to prevent the bran from browning or burning. The actual cooking time will vary based on your stove or the size of your pan, but for me, it takes about 10 minutes for the bran to fully heat through and smell sightly nutty. Remove from heat and let cool to the touch. The bran should feel dry and powdery.
3. Add the bran to a large container or crock and pour in the brine. Mix well using your hands until all of the brine is incorporated. Mix in more filtered water as needed until the nukadoko resembles damp sand (not too dry and not too watery).
4. Add the bread, garlic, and ginger to a food processor and pulse until finely crumbled and combined. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can mince them by hand.
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6. Fold in the bread crumbs, garlic, ginger, kombu, and chiles, then bury a few vegetables in the nukadoko and flatten the surface with your hands. The bran should be neatly compressed.
7. Cover the container with a lid (left ajar), a thin towel, or a couple layers of cheesecloth and store at room temperature out of direct sunlight. As the nukadoko is a living, breathing thing, you want to allow plenty of air flow for the bacteria to do their work.
8. The next day, scoop up and turn over the bran with your hands a few times (from the bottom up) to aerate it. If it’s summertime or your room temperature is very warm, turn the bran twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening). Do this every day for as long as you have your nukadoko.
9. After two days, remove the vegetables from the nukadoko and brush off the excess bran. As the bed hasn’t fully fermented yet, the vegetables will be very salty. They’re not likely to taste great on their own, but they won’t harm you either. Eat them if you wish, or simply compost them.
10. Add new starter vegetables to the nukadoko and replace them again in two days. Continue using starter vegetables for two weeks until the nukadoko develops a rich, earthy scent. Taste each batch of starter vegetables that you remove so you get a feel for how the nukadoko changes as it ferments.
11. After two weeks, the nukadoko should be microbially active enough to produce proper pickles. You can start to leave your vegetables in the nukadoko overnight to start pickling them. If they still taste very salty, and not yet sour, leave them in for one or two more days to continue fermenting. As your nukadoko matures, you’ll be able to pickle smaller vegetables in two to four hours, and larger vegetables in six to eight hours (or overnight).