Outside Japan, cucumbers are fat and large, so I cut them lengthwise (and remove the seeds), and slice into 5-7 mm rounds, salt them, and let them sit for a while. Mince or julienne the ginger.

Mix together the ingredients marked with ◆ and bring to a boil in a pan. Add ginger. Since I made a sweet vinegar marinade (with sugar) for 1.5 cucumbers, I increased the marinade to 75 ml.

Once the sauce of the ◆ ingredients comes to a boil, squeeze the excess water from the cucumbers, and add to the marinade. Simmer for 4 minutes over medium heat. (Be careful not to overboil, as the texture of the cucumbers will degrade).

After 4 minutes, let the cucumbers marinate for 1-2 days in a container or a plastic bag, then they're ready to serve. They're so crunchy and delicious.

I used cheap balsamic vinegar from the supermarket. This time, I used red balsamic, so next time I may try white. One bottle was a steal at only 85 cents.

Here it is with the white balsamic vinegar (without sugar and red chili peppers). It's lighter than red balsamic, so I added wakame seaweed and tomatoes for a salad. It tasted great with mayonnaise.