Sometimes the secret to an unforgettable flavor lies in just one simple step.

Living in Japan, you’ll soon notice the seasonal availability and pricing of fruits and vegetables. At some points during the year, for example, trying to get your hands on those fresh strawberries you’ve been craving is nigh impossible. You then learn to enjoy the seasonal shifts in availability and take the opportunity of those periods to gorge on your favorite types of produce, and maybe even try processing them to enjoy in different forms, such as pickling plums to get umeboshi.

Our Japanese-language reporter Go Hatori first tried out making umeboshi in the summer of 2021, and this year he’s going to teach us how to make homemade red pickled ginger using the leftover umezu (plum vinegar) from the process, plus shiso (a Japanese variety of the perilla herb).

Of course, if you haven’t been making you own pickled plums, you might not have your own batch of leftover umezu. Not to worry, though, because umezu/plum vinegar can also be purchased in supermarkets, and online through Amazon Japan and Rakuten too.

Go has tried his hand at making red pickled ginger with umezu in the past, but it was just a simple version with finely-chopped regular ginger, thrown straight into the umezu. This year was going to be different, as he decided to not cut corners and try out an authentic method. After doing some online research, he narrowed down the key to its creation, and that was to use young ginger. So, he popped down to the supermarket, picked some up, and washed them well.

The next step was to thinly slice it, and sprinkle on some salt to help draw out the moisture.

Go then placed a weight on top for about an hour…

… and when he came back, he found a lot of liquid had been squeezed out. He proceeded to squeeze a little more by hand to force out even more liquid.

Once the ginger was wrung as dry as possible, Go laid out the slices inside the net he usually uses to make umeboshi (he bought his at Daiso, but they’re easy to find in home/garden centers too)…

… and dried them overnight.

Returning the next day, he found that they had dried out nicely.

They weren’t completely bone-dry, but a great deal of the moisture had evaporated.

Go cut them into bite-sized pieces…

… put them into a jar, poured in umezu…

… until the slices were fully submerged…

… and let them rest for a few days to soak up the flavor.

They were finally ready.

Go put a pinch of pickled ginger into the bento he was planning to eat for lunch.

▼ “Wooooaahhhh!!!”

And it was shockingly delicious!

Go has always enjoyed red pickled ginger, but this was by far the most delicious that he had ever had. There were no unnecessary flavors; just the taste of natural and fresh red pickled ginger. The level of saltiness was also perfect.

Comparing his recent creation to store-bought versions, as well as the homemade red pickled ginger he had attempted before, the difference was as clear as night and day. Go believes the key lay in the moisture removal and drying step.

In fact, Go loved this red pickled ginger so much that…

… he immediately went out and bought some more young ginger.

Go processed it the same way…

… but this time using about three times the amount of ginger.

He devoted every last remaining drop of umezu to making red pickled ginger, demonstrating just how much it had captured his heart (and stomach).

Finding out that red pickled ginger keeps for about a year was music to his ears. Certainly, with the amount that he made, it would take him about a year to get through it all anyway.

There is still young ginger in Japanese supermarkets available to purchase, so if you want to try your own hand at making some, you should go and pick some up. Of course you shouldn’t forget the umezu if you don’t have any to hand. If you don’t manage to make it in time for this season’s young ginger, there’ll be a second batch from the spring planting around October.

Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]