I love all things sushi and this simple recipe for pickled ginger goes with everything. I went to the Asian market and bought ginger when it was on sale for 60 cents a pound (from Hawaii) and made this. You can also use the ginger fermenting ‘juice’ if you make ginger carrots (replacing the ginger in that recipe). I like to chop up pickled ginger and kimchi and eat it with soaked brown rice as a side dish too (great with a touch of toasted sesame oil).
Tips for Pickling or Fermenting Ginger
- When choosing your fresh ginger at the store, find the firmest that you can and inspect it for mold and wrinkles. It should be heavy for it’s size (meaning it has more juice in it).
- You can keep ginger in the fridge for weeks, but the best pickles are made from the firmest ginger.
- Slice the ginger as thin as you can. I like using a mandolin.
- I peel the ginger with a potato peeler, but I usually only take off one layer. Meaning, it’s not perfect and it doesn’t need to be, in my opinion.
Pickled Ginger
Rating: 2 forks (key)
Difficulty:
Easy – Makes 1 quart
Page in NT: 100
Ingredients:
about 3 pounds fresh ginger root
1 Tablespoon sea salt (TNC: I use about 2 teaspoons of celtic sea salt per quart)
4 Tablespoons whey
1 cup filtered water
Preparation:
Peel ginger and slice very thinly. Place in a large bowl and pound lightly with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down lightly with the pounder. Mix water with salt and whey and pour into jar, adding more water if necessary to cover ginger. The top of the ginger should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I have always wondered about this recipe in Nourishing Traditions. I love sushi, and if I’m eating out, thats generally what I’ll buy. However, I know the ginger that accompanies it is full of sugar and artificial colours! I have wondered if this pickled fermented would be a good replacement for that! After reading your post- I think so! I defiantely plan to give this a go in the future. I don’t have a mandolin slicer.. but I do have a food processor with various attachemnts- I think I can find something to work! Love your blog- following it all the way from New Zealand! Keep up the posts! : ) Kylie
Kylie… thanks for the comment! The last time I made this, I actually just cut the ginger as thinly as I could with a knife, and it turned out just fine. A little thicker of course, but still good. Let me know how it goes!
I love pickled ginger, but had given it up because of all the additives in commercial varieties. Definately going to give this recipe a try! But, do you know how long it will last? 3 lbs. is a LOT of ginger…
Am I missing something? I don’t see the recipe. It looks like your article stops after the tips.
Thanks Kim for posting this.
Love ginger. I’ll give this a whirl when I purchase more ginger.
Just ran out yesterday after my Kombucha brewing.
Pamela
thanks for reminding me that I need to do my Kombucha post!! Although I haven’t gotten too ‘fancy’ yet… I don’t use ginger in it… but that sounds good!
Alexis… so sorry, not sure what’s up. I will contact you in email to troubleshoot.
I can’t see the recipe either. Will you email it to me? Yummm!
I LOVE what you are doing here on your blog. Fabulous!
However, I can’t see the recipe either. Will you email it to me?
sorry!! I think it’s fixed now…
One tip I’ve read on peeling ginger was to use a spoon – scrapping with the bowl part of the spoon down. I had heard this for a while – but then I tried it & was suprised at how easy it was. I think I may try this recipe out.
I had a question. I haven’t had much luck fermenting things, but I really wanted to try this. Well today was the end of the 3 days, so I opened it up to take a whiff and make sure it wasn’t moldy (like I said, I haven’t had great luck!) or anything. There was a film on the top of it. I wasn’t sure if that was normal. I smelled it and it smelled fine, but the film kind of freaked me out, so I skimmed it off and smelled it again, and this time it smelled funky. Was the film a preservative or something? Of course, my smelling it is not a reliable test… with my terrible luck with fermenting, I’m a little gun shy now, so I stuck it in the fridge and I’m gonna pull it out in a couple days and make ginger ale with it, and if the ginger ale is gross and not drinkable, I’ll dispose of the ginger….. but I’m really curious to know if the film is normal and all that. Did you have that happen when you made this?
I didn’t have that happen… How is it now? I have had this happen to the beets and I just removed the film and it was ok. But it didn’t smell funky at all. Please let us know how it goes…
I skimmed it off and stuck it in the fridge. I made kvass (today was the day to stick it in the fridge) and it did the same thing. I stuck the kvass in the fridge too, and I will try it in a few weeks. Hopefully I don’t get sick! haha.
As for the ginger, I think it’s ok. I let it sit in the fridge for a couple days and then smelled it and all that, and it seems to be fine. I made ginger ale yesterday, so in a couple days I guess I’ll try it and see how the ginger ale tastes. I’ll keep you posted!