pickled ginger
How to Make Pickled Ginger
A small heap of pickled ginger is often served in sushi bars. However, you do not have to visit this place exclusively to savor this wonderful side dish as it can be easily prepared at home.
Pickled ginger is a sweet, thinly-sliced young ginger, that's been marinated in a solution of sugar and vinegar. It is known as gari, and is served after customers finish eating their sushi. In some places it is also known as sushi ginger. The ones that are commercially prepared are artificially colored in pink dye to promote sales, however, the natural product is typically pale yellow or has a slightly pink hue from the pickling process. It is eaten between sushi meals to help cleanse the palate.
Making Pickled Ginger
When you make sushi, you may want to make this tasty accompaniment, as well. It helps to clean the mouth and enhance the food's flavors. To make this, it is ideal that fresh young ginger is used.
Recipe #1
Ingredients
- Fresh young ginger, 2 lbs
- Rice vinegar, 3 cups
- Sugar, 2 cups
- Salt, 2 tsp
- Wash each ginger root and scrape the skin off.
- Now, thinly slice the ginger and sprinkle salt over it; keep it aside for an hour.
- Place the salted ginger slices on paper towels for it to soak excess water.
- Dry the slices and put them in an airtight sterilized jar.
- In a pan, bring the rice vinegar and sugar to a boil.
- Once the mixture is ready, take the ginger slices from the jar and transfer them to a bowl. Pour the hot vinegar-sugar solution over the ginger slices.
- Leave it to cool and then place them back in the jar and reseal it.
- Store the jar in the refrigerator once it has cooled completely.
- If you are using old ginger, the color of the pickled ginger will not turn pink, but if you are using young ginger, it will change to pink.
- Ginger root, 8 oz.
- Rice vinegar, 90 ml
- Mirin, 2 tbsp.
- Sake, 2 tbsp.
- Sugar, 5 tsp.
- Scrub the ginger root (like how you would, a potato) under running water to remove any impurities from it.
- Blanch the ginger in boiling water for a minute and drain, immediately.
- Combine mirin, sake, and sugar, in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Stir till the sugar has dissolved, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
- Place the ginger in a sterilized jar and pour the mirin, sake, and sugar mixture, over the ginger.
- Cover the jar and keep it aside for 3 to 4 days.
- This pickled ginger can be stored for up to a month in the refrigerator.
- The pink color will develop as the pickle ages.
- Fresh young ginger, 500 grams
- Coarse salt, 3 tsp.
- Caster sugar, ½ cup
- Rice wine vinegar, 1½ tbsp.
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnishing
- Peel the skin off the ginger, then cut it into thin slices.
- Put the sliced ginger in boiling water and blanch it for 20 seconds, remove it immediately, and drain well.
- Now, put the ginger into a shallow bowl and sprinkle salt on it.
- Wait for 10 minutes before you strain any extracted juices. Then, strain the juice and place the ginger in a jar.
- In a saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar and bring it to a boil.
- Spoon the sugar-vinegar mixture over the ginger.
- Seal the jar and refrigerate.
- Serve the pickled ginger with sesame seeds.
- It can be stored for up to a month in the refrigerator.