- 15 Mar 2002
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Gari (がり) is the Japanese term for thin-sliced ginger, boiled then pickled in amazu (made from plain, unseasoned rice vinegar, water and sugar), accompanying sushi.
Gari (ガリ) is a type of tsukemono (漬物, Japanese pickled vegetable), also known as amazu-shōga (甘酢生姜) or umezu-shōga (梅酢生姜) It is made from sweet, thinly sliced ginger that has been marinated in a solution of sugar and vinegar. Younger ginger is generally preferred because of its tender flesh and natural sweetness. In Japanese cuisine, gari, like wasabi and soy sauce, is essential when eating sushi and sashimi. Some believe it is used to cleanse the palate between eating different pieces of sushi, or it may be consumed before or after the meal. However, it was first used to help fight off microbial contamination often found in raw food.
To prepare gari, freshly peeled ginger is cut into pieces, salted, left to infuse for a few days and then cut crosswise to the grain into wafer-thin slices or cut straight into such slices and lightly salted. Then it is blanched briefly and marinated in a decoction of rice or plum vinegar, a little water and sugar (called amazu with rice vinegar and umezu with plum vinegar). It is often given a slightly pink hue by adding a little red perilla (紫蘇 shiso) or food colouring. When traditionally prepared, gari typically has a pale yellow to slightly pink hue from the pickling process. Only very young ginger will develop the slight pink tint naturally. Many brands of commercially produced gari are coloured pink, artificially or naturally, often by using E124 or beet juice, either to intensify the existing pink colour or because the ginger used was too mature to turn pink upon pickling. Being a prepared form of ginger, gari has minor anti-microbial properties, which may be useful when consuming raw food.
It was suggested that gari got its name from its crunchy texture (ガリガリ garigari) or from the crunching sound when ginger is sliced thinly with a knife. Like murasaki (for soy sauce) and agari (for tea), Gari is sushi restaurant terminology that has entered the colloquial language.
Kanji: -
Kana: ガリ
Romaji: gari
Gari (ガリ) is a type of tsukemono (漬物, Japanese pickled vegetable), also known as amazu-shōga (甘酢生姜) or umezu-shōga (梅酢生姜) It is made from sweet, thinly sliced ginger that has been marinated in a solution of sugar and vinegar. Younger ginger is generally preferred because of its tender flesh and natural sweetness. In Japanese cuisine, gari, like wasabi and soy sauce, is essential when eating sushi and sashimi. Some believe it is used to cleanse the palate between eating different pieces of sushi, or it may be consumed before or after the meal. However, it was first used to help fight off microbial contamination often found in raw food.
To prepare gari, freshly peeled ginger is cut into pieces, salted, left to infuse for a few days and then cut crosswise to the grain into wafer-thin slices or cut straight into such slices and lightly salted. Then it is blanched briefly and marinated in a decoction of rice or plum vinegar, a little water and sugar (called amazu with rice vinegar and umezu with plum vinegar). It is often given a slightly pink hue by adding a little red perilla (紫蘇 shiso) or food colouring. When traditionally prepared, gari typically has a pale yellow to slightly pink hue from the pickling process. Only very young ginger will develop the slight pink tint naturally. Many brands of commercially produced gari are coloured pink, artificially or naturally, often by using E124 or beet juice, either to intensify the existing pink colour or because the ginger used was too mature to turn pink upon pickling. Being a prepared form of ginger, gari has minor anti-microbial properties, which may be useful when consuming raw food.
It was suggested that gari got its name from its crunchy texture (ガリガリ garigari) or from the crunching sound when ginger is sliced thinly with a knife. Like murasaki (for soy sauce) and agari (for tea), Gari is sushi restaurant terminology that has entered the colloquial language.
Kanji: -
Kana: ガリ
Romaji: gari
