Ge Wu Pickled Ginger

Ge Wu Pickled Ginger

　　Produced in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. To make pickled ginger, top-quality young ginger should be selected. This kind of young ginger has not yet developed hardened fibers but retains the spicy flavor of ginger. First, the skin is scraped off, and the ginger is rinsed clean with water before being soaked in a 10% saltwater solution. The young ginger is then sliced into thin pieces. The artisans who make pickled ginger in Ge Wu are known as “master knife wielders”—they can slice one inch of young ginger into over a hundred elliptical slices. The sliced ginger is then boiled in boiling water until half-cooked. Once the slices become slightly translucent and shiny, they are removed, then immersed in cold water to cool, drained, and left to dry under sunlight for 3–5 days to allow excess moisture and intense spiciness to evaporate. Next, a mixture of white sugar, monosodium glutamate, fine salt, flour, water, and several other ingredients is simmered in a pot to create a sweet, diluted sauce paste. After cooling, the ginger slices are added and stirred repeatedly 7–8 times. The mixture is then poured into a large, clean vat free of unboiled water and left to dry under sunlight for about half a month (the vat is covered at night), resulting in the finished pickled ginger. It can be used as a general food item and also offers benefits such as improving digestion, strengthening the body, promoting longevity, and dispelling wind and cold. This type of pickled ginger is crafted meticulously from tender buds and shoots of ginger, producing slices that are thin, transparent, sweet, crisp, and tender—delicious in taste. Regular consumption can help improve digestion, stimulate appetite, warm the intestines, dispel wind, strengthen the body, and promote longevity.