Japanese Pickled Cabbage and Kombu Salad

This shiomomi cabbage and kombu salad is ready to enjoy in less than an hour. Melissa Uchiyama

Shiomomi, the salt-massaged method, is the perfect place to start making Japanese-style pickles, or tsukemono. This recipe is adapted with permission from Elizabeth Andoh’s “Impatient Pickles.”

Serves 2 to 3 as a side

• 1 small, dense portion of cabbage (about 6 to 8 ounces), washed, dried, and sliced thinly, as if you are preparing a slaw
• 1 small cucumber (about 2 ounces), washed and sliced (unpeeled) into paper-thin rounds
• 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse or flaky sea salt
• 1-inch piece kombu (optional, see Note)
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, such as dill or mint, or organic citrus zest

Gather all thinly-sliced, fairly uniformly-sized veggies in a bowl and mix in the salt a bit to begin the sweating process. Transfer all ingredients to a sealable plastic bag. If using kombu, situate each small piece in a different part of the bag to evenly distribute taste and texture.