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Home » Recipes » Sauces & Condiments

Pickled Ginger

Published: May 21, 2021 · Modified: Feb 27, 2022 by Bianca · This post may contain affiliate links · 13 Comments

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Pickled Ginger

Sushi without pickled ginger wouldn't be the same. But did you know that you can easily make your own pickled ginger? It's cheap, easy, and so satisfying!

Pickled Ginger

As I promised in the ginger beer post, this is the recipe for homemade gari (pickled ginger).

You can start from scratch with the ginger root, or if you've made the ginger beer, then we're working with the leftover ginger slices.

I've included both ways in the recipe box below. The main difference is that when we're working with the leftover ginger slices, then we're not adding any additional sugar in the liquid.

I love the combination of making ginger beer syrup first and then using the ginger slices for the pickled ginger. You get two for one :)

Eating sushi without some pickled ginger is just not the same because it adds such an essential flavor to it. Sometimes I even snack just the plain pickled ginger pieces. Don't judge. I'm sure you have weird habits too.

Pickled Ginger

As you can see, the ginger isn't pink like most store-bought versions. Normally only very young ginger roots produce pink pickled ginger. Store-bought pickled ginger is oftentimes artificially colored to get the color that we are used to. You could use some beet juice to color them naturally if you'd like that but I left mine white/yellow because I think pickled ginger is pretty in its natural color.

Have you ever looked at the ingredients of pickled ginger? There are LOTS OF e-numbers, preservatives, and ingredients I can't pronounce. So making pickled ginger yourself at home is a great alternative and you know exactly what's in there. Yay!

Pickled Ginger

How to make Pickled Ginger

The Ingredients & possible substitutes

You'll only need a handful of ingredients:

  • ginger root - 200 g of ginger root is enough for ½ cup of pickled ginger
  • water
  • rice vinegar - I am using white rice vinegar. Brown rice vinegar would also be fine.
  • sugar - I am using white sugar but can also use dextrose or brown sugar.
  • salt

The Basic Steps

As always you can find the whole recipe below in the box. I want to show you the basic steps first, though.

  • Ginger
  • Ginger
Step 1: Peel the ginger. Then use a vegetable peeler to slice the ginger into super thin pieces.
  • ginger slices in pot
  • ginger slices in pot
Step 2: Bring the water, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and sliced ginger to a boil and let it simmer. See how the ginger slices will get more transparent?
Pickled Ginger

Step 3: Then fill the ginger and liquid into a jar, close the lid, let it cool off. Then store it in the fridge. The ginger will last for months. Let it pickle at least overnight before using the ginger.

Good to know

How do you eat sushi with ginger? Pickled Ginger is used as a palate cleanser between sushi servings, so you are not meant to lay ginger on sushi. I will not call the sushi police if you don't follow this etiquette.

Why is pickled ginger pink? If you use young ginger roots, they have a pinkish tint which is enhanced further by pickling. Because of this people expect pickled ginger to be pink, that's why pickled ginger is most often artificially or naturally dyed (e.g. with beetroot juice).

How long does pickled ginger last? If you only use clean utensils to spoon out the pickled ginger that you need, it will last up to six months. Make sure the pickled ginger is covered with the liquid when you put it back into the fridge.

Serve it with...

  • Vegan Sushi Bowl
  • Avocado Sushi
  • Teriyaki Jackfruit Sushi Bowl
  • Enoki California Roll

Love it? Rate it!

I hope you enjoy this pickled ginger as much as I do! If you like it, please let me know. It always makes my day to hear good reviews!
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube! Let’s connect <3

Cheers, Bianca

Pickled Ginger

Pickled Ginger

Elephantastic Vegan
Sushi without pickled ginger wouldn't be the same. But did you know that you can easily make your own pickled ginger? It's cheap, easy, and so satisfying!
3.72 from 14 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Basics, Condiment
Cuisine Japanese, Vegan
Servings 1 cup
Calories 211 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 large ginger root (200g)
  • ¾ cup water
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

If you start from scratch and haven't made the ginger beer:

  • Peel the ginger and slice it with a vegetable peeler into super thin pieces.
  • In a pot, heat the water, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and ginger slices. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
  • Put everything in a jar, close it, let it cool off, and store it in the fridge. Let it pickle at least overnight and then use it for your favorite dishes! It will keep in the fridge for months.

If you have the ginger slices leftovers from making the ginger beer recipe:

  • In a small pot, heat ¼ cup of rice vinegar and ¾ cup of water, and 1 teaspoon salt (So everything except the sugar). Bring it to a boil.
  • Place the ginger slices in a jar. Pour the liquid over the ginger slices, close the jar, let it cool off, and place it in the fridge. Let it pickle at least overnight.

Notes

Storage: Store the pickled ginger in an air-tight jar, in the fridge. This way it will last for a few months.

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 2337mgPotassium: 32mgFiber: 1gSugar: 50gVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 12mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @elephantasticvegan or tag #elephantasticvegan!
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Comments

    3.72 from 14 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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  1. Bonnie says

    November 20, 2014 at 6:56 pm

    I'm still a sushi newbie so I don't think I've even had pickled ginger with mine. It does look very pretty!

    Reply
    • bianca says

      November 20, 2014 at 7:17 pm

      Thank you so much for your comment! I only can make sushi nigiri (where the avocado for example is on top of the rice piece), but I'm unable to make some good-looking maki. Normally pickled ginger is eaten between the sushi pieces but I always put it on top of it (shame on me, but it's so much better!).

      Reply
  2. Margo, Thrift at Home says

    April 10, 2015 at 4:44 pm

    Pickled ginger is expensive, too! My kids adore it and will eat it straight out of the jar if I let them.

    I would love to make this, but I think I would use regular rice vinegar. What can I sub for dextrose?

    Reply
    • bianca says

      April 10, 2015 at 7:09 pm

      Hi Margo! Supposing you don't have any problems with fructose you can use vegan white granulated sugar instead :)

      Reply
  3. Niki says

    June 14, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Hi,

    I just made this yesterday.
    It was still very spicy, I hope it will be less spicy in 5 days, when I plan on using it with the sushi bowl :)
    Thanks for the recipe, I never would have tried this diy without it. And I always did find it quite expensive in the stores.
    My boyfriend is still scetical, though, he thinks it won't turn out like the storebought.

    I'll let you know how we liked it.

    Reply
    • Niki says

      June 24, 2015 at 9:45 pm

      Hi, after 7 days of letting it sit in the fridge, we had the ginger with the sushi bowl. I really liked it, my boyfriend thinks, the slices weren't thin enough and not soft enough. Maybe I should have cooked them longer, since I couldn't get them as thin as the storebought are. I worked with a big sharp knife but still, not thin enough.
      Thanks for the recipe, I will keep it and work on my cutting, adjust cooking time and maybe use a little more sugar.
      xoxo

      Reply
      • bianca says

        June 24, 2015 at 11:50 pm

        Hi Niki! Thank you so much for the follow up! I've used a vegetable/potato peeler to cut the ginger in super thin slices and hadn't had any problems with the thickness. I really would recommend using one of those for homemade pickled ginger because I imagine it would be really hard to cut the slices thin enough with a knife - I know I wouldn't be able to cut them that thin. They will be softer too once they're thinner.

        Reply
  4. Kathy says

    April 16, 2019 at 8:22 am

    I have the leftover ginger from making ginger beer, I only used sugar free granules but now I want to make a sweet preserve with the ginger pieces. I don't eat sushi. Any ideas?

    Reply
  5. Michelle Mondejar says

    October 02, 2020 at 5:31 pm

    you are not weird..lol i eat this the same way I do with pickles by itself...ginger is really good for digestion and good for liver detoxing and keeping it healthy...which is why i was so happy when i found ur recipe...i was buying ginger pickled from the sushi place near me...with this recipe now i can make my own...TY! =)

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      October 04, 2020 at 5:29 pm

      Hope you enjoy! :)

      Reply
  6. SewVegan says

    May 24, 2021 at 2:38 am

    About how many grams of ginger root? The root comes in lots of sizes.
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Bianca says

      May 27, 2021 at 12:28 pm

      My ginger root had 200g.

      Reply
  7. Sam says

    July 01, 2021 at 1:11 am

    I'm currently making your syrup recipe so I will definitely be making this next. I also eat pickled ginger in top of the sushi AND snack on it by itself! It's like spicy candy! Thank you for these recipes!

    Reply

Welcome!

I’m Bianca. On my blog, you’ll find easy & delicious vegan recipes. I create 'meaty', 'fishy', and 'cheesy' recipes because I like to blow minds.

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