Bettarazuke (Radish pickled in salt and rice bran with rice malt and sugar) (べったら漬)

Bettarazuke is a kind of pickled daikon (Japanese radish).

Daikon is peeled thickly and pre-pickled in alum water to prevent discoloration of white daikon before pickled in amazake (sweet mild sake) mixed with sugar and salt. It is crunchy and sweet, but bland in taste. Its name is taken from the stickiness of koji (malted rice) in amazake on the surface.

Takuanzuke (yellow pickled radish) similar to bettarazuke is different in that daikon is well-pickled without air-drying it.

At night on every October 19 (the day before Ebisu ko [a fete in honor of Ebisu for the purpose of asking for good fortune]), "Bettara Market" is held to sell bettarazuke mainly in the Takarada-jinja Shrine in Tokyo (Nihonbashi Hon-cho, Chuo Ward, Tokyo), and on streets around Nihonbashi Bridge (Chuo Ward, Tokyo), Nihonbashi Odenma-cho, Nihonbashi Horidome-cho and Nihonbashi Ningyo-cho. It gets ready to eat 10 to 15 days after pickled, but has short storage life with quick change in flavor.

[Original Japanese]