Name: Japanese Pickled Ginger
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 100-150 gms – 3.5-5 oz. young ginger; ½ tsp Kosher salt or ¼ tsp table salt; 100 ml – right between 1/3 cup and ½ cup rice vinegar; 4 tbsp granulated sugar; ½ tsp Kosher salt or ¼ tsp table salt

If you follow my site, you will know I LOVE Japan. I love the country, its people, and obviously its food! I must admit that I have discovered Japanese food only in recent years, but it was love at first bite. I adore sushi and sashimi, and everything that comes with it – wasabi and gari (ガリ) are high on my like list!

What is gari? It’s that delicious pickled ginger that you get served with sushi and sashimi. The ginger’s sweet and sour flavour acts as a palate cleanser between the different pieces of sushi, allowing you to enjoy different kinds of fish and rolls. And I simply love it. In fact, I like it so much that my kids almost make fun of me and always serve me a generous amount of it when we eat out!

Japanese Pickled Ginger is widely available in supermarkets, at least here in Australia, but I like to make my own staples whenever possible. That saves me from reading labels and deciphering ingredients I don’t even know how to spell.

There’s only one catch: you need young ginger which has a mild flavour and a tender texture to make it. This is a very quick and easy pickling recipe that everyone can make at home. It tastes amazing, just like the best Japanese Pickled Ginger you can eat in Japan. Remember to check out my video recipe below!

Check out my sushi and sashimi recipes:

Salmon Nigiri

Spicy Tuna Salad Sushi Roll

Skinny Tuna Sushi Roll

Sushi Rice

Salmon Sashimi with Ponzu

Japanese Pickled Ginger

Japanese Pickled Ginger – often served with sushi or sashimi it is the perfect palate cleanser. And now you can make it at home!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Japanese

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Resting Time 4 hours

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Author Recipe adapted from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

Ginger

100-150 gms – 3.5-5 oz. young ginger
½ tsp Kosher salt or ¼ tsp table salt

Sweet Vinegar – Amazu

100 ml – right between 1/3 cup and ½ cup rice vinegar
4 tbsp granulated sugar
½ tsp Kosher salt or ¼ tsp table salt

Instructions

Ginger

Clean and peel the ginger. Then thinly slice it with a potato peeler.
Sprinkle ½ tsp Kosher salt on the sliced ginger and set aside for 5 minutes.
Then put the ginger into a pot of boiling water and cook for 1-3 minutes. If you want to keep it spicy, take it out around 1 minute. Otherwise, 2-3 minutes is good.
Drain the ginger slices completely and spread them out in a single layer on a clean tea towel or on kitchen paper. Pat dry. Transfer to a sterilized jar.

Amazu

In a small pot, add the rice vinegar, granulated sugar, and Kosher salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the strong vinegar smell has evaporated. Then put the fire off.
When it’s slightly cool, pour the liquid into the jar with the sliced ginger. Close the lid, let it cool and refrigerate.

Recipe Notes

If you find young ginger with pink tips, after a few hours, the ginger will turn slightly pink. The following day it will be even pinker. Often commercially produced pickled ginger is artificially dyed pink. The pickled ginger can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 year.