Pickled ginger is a massive part of the sushi-eating world. It’s almost a critical element to enjoying any sushi dish – although you should never actually eat it on a piece of sushi… The ginger is there to cleanse your palate in between delicious bites of rice and fish. Now that the finger wagging is out the way, let’s look at how you can make your own pickled ginger.
In Japanese, the pickled ginger is called amazu shoga or gari. It’s prepared in either pink or white liquids, which give it the distinctive colors you see at the sushi restaurants. The sharp pickling agent and the strong flavor of the ginger is meant to enhance the taste of the sushi and reset your tastebuds for the next mouthful of sashimi, nigiri, etc.
The Ingredients You Need
Pickled ginger is quite simple to make at home and can be stored for a long time, so you can make up a big batch and keep it. Start with fresh ginger root, which you’re going to peel and then cut up into pieces.
You’ll need about 8 ounces of fresh ginger, so be sure to weigh it out after you’ve peeled off the skin. If you don’t have enough ginger, the pickling liquid may overwhelm the ginger. Other ingredients you need are sea salt (1 ½ teaspoons), rice vinegar (1 cup) and white sugar (1/3 cup).
You’ll also need a jar with a lid that seals well. The best is a glass mason jar that gives you a solid seal when you close the lid. Just be sure to measure the jar’s volume before you get started making your pickled ginger to ensure it can hold all of the ginger and the finished pickling liquid.
Prepping The Ginger
The ginger must be fresh and have all the skin peeled off carefully. Once peeled, cut the root into slices or chunks. You can go either way, it all depends on what you prefer to eat with your sushi or poke bowls.
Next, take the sea salt and sprinkle it over the cut ginger. Be sure to mix it well so that the salt is coating the ginger equally on all sides. Place the ginger and salt in your jar and leave it to stand for about half an hour.
Making The Pickling Liquid
The pickling liquid is simple to make – you just combine the rice vinegar and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat while you’re enjoying Australia sports betting. Continue to stir the mixture until all the sugar has dissolved and then bring the liquid to the boil. Once you have a nice rolling boil, remove the pan from the heat and pour the bubbling liquid over the ginger you’ve left to stand in the jar.
It’s important to leave the jar and the mixture to cool down completely. The lid should be off while everything cools and only sealed in place when the jar is cool to the touch. Now you can store the jar in the fridge, ready for your next meal.
