Japanese Red Pickled Ginger (Homemade Benishoga)

Method9 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Cut the 100 g young ginger into manageable pieces about 5 cm long. Thoroughly wash in clean water, drain and pat dry, then cut into slices about 2 mm thick.

   Uses 100 g young ginger root (shin shoga) · Clean water for washing and cold rinsing the ginger

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Bring enough blanching water to cover the sliced ginger to a rolling boil. Add the prepared slices from step 1 and blanch for 1 minute.

   Blanch young ginger · 1 minUses Washed, drained and thinly sliced young ginger · Water, enough to blanch the sliced ginger

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Drain the blanched ginger from step 2 in a colander and discard the blanching water. Rinse with cold clean water, shake off the excess and transfer to a bowl. Rub in the ½ tsp salt evenly.

   Uses Blanched ginger lifted from its cooking water · Clean water for washing and cold rinsing the ginger · ½ tsp salt

   
4. 4

   Step 4: Put a clean small plate over the salted ginger from step 3 and weigh it down with a heavy clean object. Leave for 1 hour in a cool place to draw out moisture.

   Press salted ginger · 60 minUses Drained, rinsed and salted ginger slices

   
5. 5

   Step 5: After the hour in step 4, squeeze the ginger slices firmly. Discard the expressed liquid.

   Uses Pressed salted ginger and its accumulated liquid

   
6. 6

   Step 6: Pat both sides of the squeezed ginger slices from step 5 as dry as possible with clean kitchen paper.

   Uses Squeezed ginger retained after discarding expressed liquid

   
7. 7

   Step 7: Cut the dried ginger slices from step 6 into thin matchsticks and pack in a clean sterilized sealable jar that holds the ginger and its pickling liquid.

   Uses Paper-dried young ginger slices

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Stir the ½ tbsp sugar into the 125 ml red ume plum vinegar until dissolved. Pour over the ginger matchsticks from step 7 in their jar, ensuring they are fully submerged.

   Uses Young ginger matchsticks in the prepared jar · 125 ml red ume plum vinegar (umesu) · ½ tbsp sugar

   
9. 9

   Step 9: Seal the ginger-and-pickling-liquid jar from step 8 and refrigerate at 4 °C or below for at least 24 hours before eating. For a fuller flavor, the author suggests waiting 4–5 days. Lift out small portions with clean utensils, keep the remaining ginger submerged and refrigerated, and use the small batch promptly.

   First refrigerated pickling check · 1440 minUses Ginger submerged in sweetened red umezu