I don’t use ginger that often, so I found myself throwing away half-used ginger roots far too often. Turning this ginger into pickled ginger and storing it in the fridge has proved to be way more effective.
You can simply use pickled ginger instead of fresh ginger. But it can also be a tasty accompaniment to many dishes. In either case it will add spice and warmth to your dishes.
The most well known kind of pickled ginger, is probably Japanese gari. This “sushi ginger” as some people call it, contains only young ginger. The pink tips of this ginger, give the pickle it’s signature pink color. However, some gari consists of mature ginger with a red radish thrown in for color. As is the case with many foodstuffs, not all gari is created equal.
Young ginger is difficult to find in stores. The type of ginger you can commonly buy is mature ginger. These ginger roots grow in the ground for up to a year. They’re much tougher and more fibrous than young ginger. They’re also a lot more spicy. I wrote this recipe especially with mature ginger in mind.
Because pickled ginger looks a bit bland, I decided to enhance the root’s pale yellow colour. So I added a tiny bit of ground turmeric. If you don’t like this for some reason, you can simply leave it out. It won’t make any difference in taste.
Mature ginger is a lot more fibrous than young ginger. So it’s important that you slice it as thinly as possible. And I truly mean paper-thin. I tried using a potato peeler but the slices still came out to thick that way. So you should really use a mandolin to do this.
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- 150 g root ginger peeled weight
- 1 tsp salt
- 500 ml vinegar
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 1/8 tsp ground turmeric
Ingredients
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- Wash the jar you want to use in hot soapy water. Rinse it thoroughly and leave to dry. Important note: make sure you use a container made from either glass or ceramic. Metal and plastic can react with vinegar, ruining both your pickles and your container.
- Peel the root ginger. Then, using a mandolin, cut the ginger into paper-thin slices.
- Mix the ginger slices with the salt. Add them to your clean jar and set aside.
- In a pan, combine the vinegar, sugar and turmeric. Bring the mixture to the boil, making sure everything has dissolved.
- When the vinegar boils, add it to the jar. You should fill the jar all the way to the rim leaving in as little air as possible. Then quickly put on the lid.
- Let the jar cool until you can handle it without burning your hands. Then turn it upside-down and let it cool completely. Letting your jar cool this way, should create a vacuum. Once it has cooled completely, store it in the fridge.
- You can use your pickled ginger immediately but it's better to let the flavors develop for at least 24 hours.
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