Ginger Goodness

There are a few things that, if I only had myself to please, would probably sneak their way into every dish I ever made. Cilantro is first, vanilla a close second, and flax seed can be third (the latter for the omega threes, not for the taste). Garlic would be an obvious fourth pick, but I don't think that putting garlic in everything is at all unique (as it's in practically every dish out there, though to be fair I like it in significantly higher amounts that most recipes call for).

But ginger, now ginger deserves to be in every dish. It's cheap, it lasts a long time without refrigeration, and it's fun to chop. And it tastes great (at least when cooked. I am able to eat it raw, but it's not really something I particularly enjoy. Though it's easier to eat raw than garlic, which is not a pleasant experience, either for you or the next twenty people you talk to).

And one of my favorite ways to eat ginger is the pickled ginger you get at sushi restaurants. When I eat at a sushi restaurant (like at my favorite place in Cleveland), I ask for extra ginger when the first sushi plate comes, as in, before I've even eaten a single piece of the ginger they give you. I know it's a little low class, to ask for more ginger when I haven't even finished the ginger on the plate, but I love pickled ginger enough that I let myself do it anyway.

I've been thinking for a while now that, if I love pickled ginger so much, why not make some myself? Aha, ask and ye shall be answered. So I tried it. It was super easy. Though to be fair, most pickling is pretty easy. But if you like pickled sushi ginger, you should try this too.


Pickled Ginger

Ingredients

Ginger root
Rice Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

The amount of each of these depends on how much vinegar there is, which depends on how much you are pickling, which depends on how much you chopped, so basically it's all by feel. I think it's hard to screw up, and after a few attempts at picking you get a sense for it. (If you need a recipe, try this one. Note that it advocates an overnight soak, which might be beneficial, but does nothing for sterilization, which is dangerous from a getting-deathly-ill perspective. Also, don't be fooled by this blog, which despite being named Ginger and Pickles, is about neither ginger nor pickling.)


Start by chopping your ginger. Yay getting to chop! Chopping if so fun when you have a fancy knife that your awesome sister got your for your birthday last year. Especially when it's really sharp. I just bought a knife sharpener for $4 on amazon so my knives are crazy sharp.



You don't actually have to chop it that thin (though you can) but the thicker the slices are, the longer it will need to sit in the jar before you can eat it so the vinegar can get all the way through. So thinner is probably better.



Now, I'm not a big waster of anything, including vinegar (especially rice wine vinegar), so my method is to add whatever I'm picking to the picking jar, then to add vinegar so I get the amount needed to cover it exactly right.





Pour the vinegar out into a saucepan. You also have to get the ginger back out so you can sterilize the jar. Here's the jar sterilizing:




I usually just add water to a saucepan so that it's more than halfway up the jar when its on its side and then start to boil it, and rotate it every few minutes. I guess in theory you're supposed to cover it completely, but I don't see the need.


Meanwhile, add the salt and pepper and sugar to the vinegar.

Then boil the vinegar. It should be on a lower flame than the sterilization water (to make sure the jar is ready before the vinegar boils). Once the jar is sterilized, use the tongs (which you also sterilized) to pour out the water and put it right-side up in the boiling water. You also can reduce the heat.

Add the ginger to the jar. When the vinegar just starts to boil, pour it into the jar. Here's me using the (sterilized) tongs to push down the ginger.



Since you already measured the exact amount of vinegar needed, it will just cover the ginger. Yay not being wasteful!


Next, and last step, sneak the top onto the jar (use those tongs!) and seal it off using a dish towel (it will be hot!). Turn the flame back to high and get that water boiling.






Let it sit for at least 10 minutes. When the liquid inside the jar is steaming (I think you're supposed to let it boil, but I personally think steaming is hot enough) you know it's all sterilized in there, so you can turn off the heat and remove the jar from the saucepan. Let it cool on your counter for a bit of time, and then put it in the fridge. And now to test your will power! To be honest, waiting a week is probably enough, but the longer you let it sit, the better it will be.

For this batch, I waited 2 weeks before cracking it open. And when I did...