Gari, Japanese Pickled Ginger

This is great as a side dish with any Asian meal. Or can be included in Japanese - style or other Asian noodles such as the Gari Somen recipe here.

"This is the famous gari which you would have with sushi in a Japanese restaurant, although you might not recognise it if your only experience of sushi is sushi-train because it doesn't have the pink colouring or MSG factor. If you can take the time this home-made stuff beats the sushi-train stuff hands down!" - Jason Patton.

 
Pictured: Gari made with brown sugar

2 lb/450g fresh ginger root
2 tsp salt
3 cups rice vinegar
2 cups sugar (can use brown sugar)

Wash fresh ginger root and rub off the skin. Slice the ginger as thinly as you can and salt them.
Leave salted ginger slices in a bowl for one hour.
Dry the ginger slices with paper towels and put them in a sterilized container/jar.
 
Mix rice vinegar and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot mixture of vinegar and sugar over the ginger slices.
Cool them.
The ginger changes its color to light pink if you use white sugar rather than brown, otherwise it stays a pale brown as pictured above.
Cover the jar and store it in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 cups