Sushi Ginger

Sushi Ginger

Sushi Ginger, or Gari, is an extremely important part of enjoying sushi!

Did you know that resting a piece of sushi ginger on your tongue will help alleviate you from too much spice?

Try this out the next time you go out to eat sushi and get a little too much wasabi.

You can make your own pickled ginger at home!

Here are the ingredients you will need:

8oz of ginger root
3oz of rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Mirin(sweet rice wine vinegar)

5 teaspoons of sugar

First, you need to cut the ends off of your ginger root and peel the skin off.
Next, wash your ginger root and very carefully slice it as thin as you can (you can also use a vegetable grater if you prefer).

Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil your ginger root for a few minutes- until the ginger becomes soft.
Mix the rice wine vinegar, mirin, and sugar in a medium-sized mixing bowl and allow the ginger to marinate overnight.

That’s it! This ingredient is pretty easy to make at home and it will ensure that you’re eating organic pickled ginger- free from any artificial food dye or preservatives.

Being that it is pickled in vinegar, you can save the leftover ginger in a sealed container in your refrigerator and enjoy it later.

Pickled sushi ginger is an extremely important sushi ingredient and is served with every dish, alongside a ball of wasabi.

Organically Food Dyed Ginger

Using organic fruits and vegetables, it is possible (and extremely fun) to make natural food dyes! In most cases, these natural dyes won’t compensate for the flavor. I’ll be sure to mention the ones that will though.

Ginger is also extremely responsive to dyes. Conversely, you can use store-bought dyes to add a little color to your ginger, but we all know how to do that.

Here is how you can organically dye your ginger:

Blue– The secret to organic blue dye is red cabbage. Crazy, right?

Chop up your red cabbage and bring it to a boil
Add a little bit of baking soda to the mix and stir slowly (the more baking soda, the lighter the blue)

Use the water and add it to your ginger
Let the mixture sit for a few hours (preferably overnight)

Purple– This process is exactly like the one stated above, minus the baking soda.

Green– For green, I like to use liquid chlorophyll. You can find this stuff in most health food grocery stores. If it’s not readily available near you, you can also use spinach leaves.

Boil the spinach leaves and blend them into a nice puree’
You can add the puree to the ginger, or just use the juice

Orange– Carrots will do the trick- you can even use carrot juice sold in supermarkets!

Red– It goes without saying that beets take the gold. You can use canned beet juice from the store, or brew up your own. To make your own, simply boil or juice raw beets.

You should allow your sushi ginger to sit in its respective dye for at least a few hours, if not overnight.

Use these new, delightfully colored ginger batches to really make your plate pop!