Okonomiyaki Recipe Blog

No Okonomiyaki is complete without some pickled ginger, and in Japan the pickled ginger of choice comes bright red.  Where does that red color come from?  Well, often it’s artificial coloring, but traditionally — and much more deliciously, I might add — it comes from the use of a special herb called Aka Shiso (赤紫蘇) or Red Perilla.

This traditional Japanese herb has deep purple-red serrated leaves and is used in flower arranging, as well as in cooking. Use the aromatic leaves, which are reminiscent of anise, in salad, tempura or as an edible garnish. Chinese cooks prefer this type of shiso and use it to flavor seafood. The Vietnamese wrap it around grilled meats. This variety is use to color umeboshi and pickled ginger.

In Ibaraki, on a small farm I worked on, I learned to make dozens of types of pickles.  Here is my farm host Ms. Sato’s Beni Shouga (red pickled ginger) recipe.

Sato-San’s Beni Shouga (pickled red ginger) Recipe

makes about 3 cups pickled ginger

• 1 pound fresh young ginger
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 cups rice vinegar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 to 10 red shiso leaves, coarsely torn

Peel the ginger, taking all of the rough skin off.

Use a benriner or cleaver to slice ginger crosswise very thin.

Place ginger slices in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of the salt.  Toss with your fingers to blend well, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Put a small pot of water on to boil.  Rinse the ginger off with the boiling water, and drain well.

Place vinegar, sugar, and remaining salt, and the shiso if you have it, in a small nonreactive pot.  Heat and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Fill a wide-mouthed 1-quart jar with boiling water, then drain it.  (This is to sterilize the jar.)

Using tongs, place the ginger in the jar, then pour the hot vinegar mixture over.  Cover tightly and let pickle overnight before using.

The ginger keeps, well-sealed in the refrigerator, for 2 months or more.  Sato-san generally leaves hers in the open air garage all winter, along with many other types of pickles she makes.

You can also save the ginger skin and hard knobbly bits for making ginger tea.