Beni shoga

Beni shoga

What it is

It is cured in umezu, the brine that rises in the barrel when ume are salted for umeboshi; the red comes from the shiso steeping in that brine, not from the ginger. Gari, the pale sweet sliced kind, belongs to sushi — beni shōga is the savoury one, and it goes on gyūdon, yakisoba and okonomiyaki instead.

In the kitchen

A pinch is the point — it is aggressively salty and sharp, and a spoonful takes over a bowl. Keep the brine when the jar empties and use it as the acid in a dressing: it is citric rather than acetic, and it tastes of the fruit.

Goes with

Pork Beef Cabbage Soba noodles Katsuobushi (dried bonito) Rice Umezu

Same species

Gari (pickled ginger) Ginger Myoga

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