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!

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.

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!

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 1/2 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.

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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!
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Cheers, Bianca