Ginger
生姜 しょうが shoga
Also known asshoga, shouga, hineshoga, hineshouga
At its best in Jul, Aug, Sep
When it is at its best
In seasonAvailable
How to cook
As a condiment
Grated over chilled tofu or noodles, where the aroma comes through.
Sweet vinegar pickle
Young ginger pickled in sweetened vinegar, the gari served with sushi.
Shogayaki
Grated into the sauce for pan-fried pork.
Tsukudani
Chopped and simmered sweet and savoury, to eat with rice.
How to choose
Glossy skin, plump and firm. Young ginger should be white with pink at the base.
Storage
Sensitive to drying and cold. Wrap in newspaper and keep somewhere cool and dark. Refrigerate young ginger and use it soon.
Main areas
Good to know
Stored mature ginger is pungent and strongly aromatic, suiting condiments and cooked dishes. The young ginger of summer holds more water, is tender and milder, and goes into sweet vinegar pickles. Leaf ginger is eaten raw with miso. Kochi grows more than half the national crop.
