1.
desalting, removing excess salt, soaking to reduce saltiness
The process of soaking salted food in water to remove excess salt before cooking or eating. A common technique in Japanese cooking for ingredients like pickles, salted fish, and preserved seaweed.
塩鮭を塩抜きする。
To desalt salted salmon.
わかめは使う前に塩抜きしてください。
Please desalt the wakame before using it.
塩抜きが足りないと料理がしょっぱくなるので、水に十分浸しておくこと。
If you don't desalt enough, the dish will be too salty, so make sure to soak it in water thoroughly.
USAGE:
A cooking term used when preparing salt-preserved ingredients. The standard method is soaking in water, sometimes with a small amount of salt added (a technique called 迎え塩) to draw out salt more effectively.
WORD FORMATION:
塩 (salt) + 抜き (removing). The 抜き suffix is productive in Japanese: 骨抜き (deboning), 色抜き (bleaching), etc.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 塩抜きをする: to desalt
- 塩抜きが足りない: not desalted enough
- 水で塩抜きする: to desalt by soaking in water