noun
rice-bran pickling bed; nukadoko
A fermented mixture of rice bran, salt, and water used for making Japanese pickles (nukazuke). Requires daily stirring to maintain.
See also: 糠漬け
ぬか床を毎日かき混ぜないと、カビが生えてしまう。
If you don't stir the nukadoko every day, it will get moldy.
祖母から受け継いだぬか床で、きゅうりを漬けている。
I'm pickling cucumbers using the nukadoko I inherited from my grandmother.
ぬか漬け refers to the pickles themselves or the pickling process, while ぬか床 is specifically the fermented bran bed used for pickling.
Compound of ぬか (rice bran) and 床 (bed, floor). The term literally means 'rice-bran bed', referring to the bed of fermented bran paste used for pickling.