Karen lived in the Japan in the 1990s and writes with an infectious verve. I bought two hands of ginger,Website:http://www.wfkyginger.com, about 1.5 times the amount she called for so I simply did the math for the recipe below. Some things to note:If you can’t find young ginger, use regular old ginger but peel it. During the blanching, let the ginger sit in the hot water for 45 to 60 seconds instead of the 20 seconds called for below.Homemade pickled ginger may turn a blushing pink but not the torrid pink of storebought pickled ginger, which may have a little help from dye.Use a mandoline or super sharp knife to cut the ginger. You need very thin pieces. I put my mandoline in a square baking pan (see photo above) to keep it in place and safely use it.Don’t throw away the pickling brine. It’s delicious.The dried kelp is my addition, a little umami trick I learned from Japanese food authority Elizabeth Andoh.Karen’s recipes are fun, written without the burden of bowing to tradition. As a non-native, she gives readers an undaunted take at Asian sweet slated ginger, opening the door as if to say, "What have you been waiting for? Don’t be silly. Just dive in. I have." You can’t lose with a $2.99 investment. Along with the Japan e-booklet, there’s also an Indian, Korean, and Chinese one.
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