A sweet and savory candied ginger recipe using fresh young ginger. Perfect as a side dish with rice or for bento boxes, and can also be finely chopped for onigiri filling. Cooking with the peel on and slicing thickly brings out the natural flavor and texture of young ginger. The simmering technique creates a deep flavor. Stores in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients (Make-Ahead Batch)
- Young Ginger 500g
- Powdered Dried Bonito Flakes 2 tbsp
Seasonings
- [A] Soy Sauce 120cc
- [A] Cooking Sake (Rice Wine) 120cc
- [A] Mirin (Sweet Rice Wine) 120cc
- [A] Sugar 3 tbsp
Steps
- Thoroughly wash the young ginger with a brush. [Key Tip!] The skin of young ginger is soft, so there's no need to peel it. Scrubbing with a brush is sufficient.
- Cut the young ginger in half for easier slicing, and then slice it to about 2-3mm thickness. [Key Tip!] Since young ginger has a high water content and shrinks when cooked, it's recommended to slice it a bit thicker than you think.
- Place the coarsely shaved bonito flakes in a pot and dry-fry over high heat for about 10 seconds. Fry until everything becomes crispy and turns into powder. [Key Tip!] You can use commercially available bonito flake powder, but making it yourself results in a significantly better aroma. If it starts to burn, remove from heat and adjust.
- Once the fried bonito flakes have cooled, crush them with your hands into powder. This is your homemade bonito flake powder.
- In a large pot, combine soy sauce 120cc, 120cc of cooking sake, mirin 120cc, and 3 tbsp of sugar. Bring to a simmer. [Key Tip!] Use the largest pot you have. A larger surface area allows for quicker reduction.
- Once the seasonings are boiling, add all the sliced young ginger (500g) and cook over high heat. Do not cover.
- When it starts to boil, stir occasionally and simmer until the young ginger becomes tender, for about 10 minutes.
- When the liquid has reduced by about half and the young ginger is tender, drain the ginger in a colander, reserving the liquid.
- Return only the reserved liquid to the pot and reduce it until it becomes thick and syrupy, being careful not to burn it. Add any liquid squeezed from the ginger in the colander. [Key Tip!] Reducing the liquid until it's thick and syrupy makes a significant difference in the final result.
- Return the young ginger to the pot with the reduced syrup and continue to simmer.
- Simmer until almost all the moisture has evaporated.
- Once almost dry, turn off the heat and add the 2 tbsp of prepared bonito flake powder, tossing to coat everything.
- The candied young ginger is complete.
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