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Vegetables from Narita and Katori, Chiba, Japan

Uri no teppō-zuke (Narita "gun-barrel" melon pickle)瓜の鉄砲漬

A hollowed, salt-stored white melon is desalted for about 2 days, stuffed with green chilli wrapped in shiso leaf and steeped in a boiled and cooled soy, mirin and sake liquid. The liquid is boiled and cooled again each day for 4 to 5 days, and the pickle is ready in about a week. The chilli is the "gunpowder" in the melon "barrel".

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Uri no teppō-zuke itself.

DocumentedVegetables13 days – 14 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceMAFF regional-cuisine recipe for 4 servings, from the Chiba prefecture book ちばのふるさと料理; the page notes that recipes vary by area and household.
Salt-stored melon1 kg[maff-chiba]
Zarame (coarse sugar)200 g[maff-chiba]
Soy sauce2 cups[maff-chiba]
Sake1/2 cup[maff-chiba]
Mirin1/2 cup[maff-chiba]
Vinegar1 tablespoon[maff-chiba]
Shiso10 leaves[maff-chiba]
Green chillies3–5[maff-chiba]

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 days – 14 days

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a bean

What changes: Hollowed white melons are kept in salt until they are needed

Step 1 of 5
Hollow and salt-store the melons
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The recipe starts from salted melon and gives no salt level or time for this stage.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

A hollowed, salt-stored white melon is desalted for about 2 days, stuffed with green chilli wrapped in shiso leaf and steeped in a boiled and cooled soy, mirin and sake liquid. The liquid is boiled and cooled again each day for 4 to 5 days, and the pickle is ready in about a week. The chilli is the "gunpowder" in the melon "barrel". Made in 5 steps over 13 days – 14 days. The longest step, rest until ready, takes 7 days (MAFF うちの郷土料理 (Our regional cuisines) 2026).

Key numbers
Main step7 daysReported[maff-chiba]Rest until ready

What makes this one different

Uri no teppō-zuke is a soy-sauce and mirin marinade over a salt-stored base. The seasoning is boiled and cooled again every day while it steeps.

Related ferments

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Made in the Narita area as a preserved food for the winter. Local pickle makers began selling it later, and many Chiba makers now produce it (MAFF).

  1. [maff-chiba] MAFF うちの郷土料理 (Our regional cuisines), 瓜の鉄砲漬 (Chiba), recipe from ちばのふるさと料理 (Chiba prefecture), read 2026-10-23gov