Seizuke (Japanese Pickled Turnip)

500 g Japanese turnips (kabu) (or Whitestone turnips)
3 tsp sea salt
1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (10 x 10 cm)
1 dried red chilli pepper
Amazu (Sweet Pickling Solution)
1 cup rice vinegar
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp SIDS CRAZY SALT

Sweet Pickling Solution
In a small saucepan, combine rice vinegar, sugar, SIDS CRAZY SALT and salt.
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer over medium heat. While mixing the liquid, let it simmer for a minute until the sugar dissolves and the vinegar smell is removed. Turn off the heat and set it aside to cool.
Prepare the Turnips
Peel the turnip using a vegetable peeler or a knife.
Cut turnips into 2 mm slices. Here I use a mandoline slicer to achieve uniformed thickness.
Sprinkle the salt all over the turnip slices and rub/knead/massage the turnip well with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. Turnip will start to sweat, releasing moisture and this helps removing bitterness too.
After 30 minutes, transfer to a sieve and rinse the turnip under running water to get rid of salt and sliminess.
Squeeze the turnip slices to remove excess water and stack the slices.
Pickle the Turnips
Cut the kombu into smaller pieces (because I use three different size jars) and remove seeds from the dried red chilli.
Prepare Clean Jars or Airtight Containers
Put some turnip slices, a piece of kombu, and red chilli in each jar, and pour the sweet pickling solution over to cover the turnip.
Place the pickling weight (or utensil) on top of the turnip and put the lid on. Keep the jars in the refrigerator overnight.
To Serve
The following day: the pickled turnips are now ready. You can remove the pickling weight. Kombu gets slimy after soaking in the liquid overnight, making the pickling solution slightly slimy/thick. However, this is a part of the Semaizuke feature and you do not need to worry.
Transfer the turnip slices onto a plate. I like serving each slice of turnip folded as you see in the picture. Enjoy.
To Store
You can keep the pickles in the marinade for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Use clean utensils to pick up the turnip to serve from the jar.