Recipe: Pink Ginger

Hi Joy,

I found two recipes for pink ginger used in sushi on the internet.

Amazu Shuga (Pickled Pink Ginger)



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Title: Amazu Shuga (Pickled Pink Ginger)
Categories: Japanese, Condiment, Ceideburg 2
Yield: 1 batch

1/3 lb Fresh, Young, Ginger root*
1/3 c Rice Vinegar
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 ts Salt
*Large pieces, pref. with
-pinkish skin, scraped

Whilst poring over my three volume loose leaf cookbook (inhabited
mainly by stuff snatched from here) I ran across the following that I
though you might be interested in. I think that the caveat about
fresh, young ginger root is necessary to this recipe. I don't think
the older, woody stuff would work at all. Guess this originally
appeared here from the heading...

Using a sharp knife or a Beriner cutter,shave ginger root into paper-
thin slices. In a small, airtight container, combine vinnegar, sugar
and salt. Blanch ginger for 30 seconds in boiling water. Drain
ginger; cool. If desired, reserve liquid for cooking purposes. Add
cooled ginger to vinegar mixture; mix well. Store marinating ginger
in the refrigerator. Pickled ginger can be eaten after 24 hours of
marinating. It will keep several weeks. Good with either Sushi or
noodles. Add marinade to salads or sauces.

Pickled Ginger (Gari or Shoga)

In a sushi bar, you will be given a small heap of pickled ginger as well as a small glob of wasabi. The
purpose of the wasabi is to mix with soy sauce in the small dish that included with your place setting.
(Start with small amounts of the wasabi, mix it with the soy sauce, and sample. Repeat until it tastes more
like the wasabi than the soy sauce, or until it tastes "right" to you.) The ginger is used to cleanse the
palate between bites of sushi. It does not take a lot of the ginger to cleanse the palate, so the small pile
should be enough for several rolls. If you consume all of either, by all means ask the sushi chef for more.

People have asked if the ginger root in grocery stores is the same ginger that is pickled for sushi. It is, and
up until now I have recommended that you buy it in jars at Asian markets. I recently found a recipe for
making your own pickled ginger, and will share that with you.

8 oz. (250 g) ginger root
3 fl oz (90 ml) rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons mirin *
2 Tablespoons sake **
5 teaspoons sugar
mirin is a very sweet rice wine used only for cooking. You
can substitute a teaspoon of sugar for a Tablespoon of mirin, or
an equal amount of sake.
sake is a rice wine that often accompanies sushi. Dry sherry
is a potential but inferior substitute.

Scrub the ginger under running water as you would a potato for baking. Blanch in boiling water for one
minute and drain.

Combine mirin, sake, and sugar in a small pan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
Cool.

Place the ginger into a sterilized jar and pour the cooled vinegar over the ginger. Cover and keep 3-4 days
before using. Will keep refrigerated for up to one month.

The pale pink color develops as it ages, however, you might want to add a small amount of red food
coloring.