Easy Quick Pickled Ginger

a glass jar of pickled ginger, with slices of ginger on a white board.

5 from 1 rating

Pickled ginger adds an irresistible sweet and spicy taste to any meal—and now you can make it at home! Yes, you already love it as a condiment for sushi, but it's also excellent for adding zip and pep to stir-fries, meal bowls, and even cocktails.

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Total Time15

Course: Condiments

Cuisine: Fusion, Japanese

Keyword: pickled sushi ginger

Servings:

Author: Sarah Cook

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cups ginger, peeled and sliced {~1.5 pounds}
2 tsp table salt
1 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup white sugar

Instructions

Peel and carefully slice ginger into the thinnest slices possible. A mandoline slicer is ideal, or a sharp paring or chef's knife.
2 cups ginger, peeled and sliced
In a medium mixing bowl, combine ginger and salt. Toss to combine and let sit for 30-60 minutes.
2 tsp table salt
In a colander, briefly rinse ~50% of the salt from the ginger.
In a small saucepan combine rice vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir, cooking until the sugar has dissolved.
1 cup rice vinegar, 1/3 cup white sugar
Reduce the temp to medium and add the ginger to the hot vinegar. Stir occasionally, cooking for 5 minutes.
Carefully pour the hot vinegar and ginger into a jar. Place a lid loosely on the jar.
Let the ginger cool to room temperature, and then tighten the lid.
Store the ginger in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

Notes

Only young ginger will turn pink like the ginger at your favorite sushi restaurant. Most traditional grocery store ginger is mature and will stay white/beige. You can usually find young ginger at well-stocked international markets.
1. You can color mature ginger pink if you’d like. Add a red cabbage leaf or a slice of beet to the vinegar mixture while it cooks. Or, use 1-2 drops of pink or red food coloring.
If you freeze whole peeled ginger root for ~20 minutes, it will be easier to cut into thin slices.
Be sure to use unseasoned rice vinegar, not seasoned.
If you’re not able to cut paper-thin slices of ginger, cook it in the brine for at least 6 minutes. Allow a slice to cool a bit and then try it to see if the texture is soft enough.
Refrigerate the ginger in a tightly closed jar for 3-4 weeks.

Nutrition