Hakusai no sokusekizuke

Now we get to a topic that I love - pickles. I am going to post a good deal of different pickle recipes on here. I believe the ancient monks loved these too. With the bland rice, these give a meal some zest and a pique of flavor.
This is a quick and simple salt pickle dish made of lightly salted hakusai cabbage which is often mixed with carrots and cucumber and seasoned with yuzu zest, konbu and togarashi pepper. The result is a salty, crisp pickle with a slightly spicy citrus flavor. It is one of the most common pickles found in Japan and is often served alongside set menu meals

About 2 lb Napa cabbage
1/2 tsp vegetable stock granules or about 1/2 a Knorr-sized stock cube
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. orange zest in thin strips
1 tsp. lemon juice - optional
1 tsp. dark sesame oil - optional
Drop of shoyu for serving - optional

Wash the cabbage leaves, and discard any discolored parts. Dry by spinning in a salad spinner or in several layers of paper towels. Chop up roughly. Mix together all the dry ingredients and orange zest in a bowl. If you're using a stock cube, crumble it up finely. Put the cabbage in the plastic bag, and the dry ingredients + orange zest. Close the bag with plenty of air in it and shake all around until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Open the bag, expel as much air as you can, and close again. Massage and toss the bag around, bruising the cabbage. Quite a lot of moisture will come out of the cabbage and melt the salt etc. Try not to burst the bag with over-enthusiastic kneading. You can eat this right away, or leave in the refrigerator in the bag for about an hour. To serve, drain off the excess moisture which is delicious, but rather salty...though some people like to drink it off. Drizzle with the optional lemon juice or sesame oil. Serve with any Japanese style meal. Makes a great bento box item.