ARTICLES
Now in Season! Appetizer Recipes Using Young Ginger from Kuriyama, Hokkaido
That's why we asked culinary expert Ms. Matsuda to create recipes featuring this young ginger, designed to pair perfectly with sake from Kuriyama's own Kobayashi Sake Brewery: "Hokuto Zuiso" and "Maruta"!
We hope you'll try making them at home.
■Click here to learn more about Yoshida Farm's young ginger!
Hokkaido-Grown Young Ginger is Now in Season! Yoshida Farm's Ginger Cultivation Challenge in Kuriyama Town
Beef Shigureni with Plenty of Ginger
This is a beef shigureni (beef simmered in soy sauce and ginger) made with a generous amount of young ginger.
By dicing the young ginger into small cubes, it adds a refreshing flavor and a pleasant texture.
Pair it with "Maruta" sake, which has a solid umami and a crisp, sharp finish. It's a combination that will have you reaching for another sip. As you get tipsy, you might even picture the rural landscapes and brick sake breweries of Kuriyama before your eyes.
Ingredients (for an easy-to-make amount)
- Thinly sliced beef (scraps or pieces): 150g
- Young ginger: 20g
- Sugar: 1.5 tbsp
- Oil: 0.5 tsp
- Soy sauce, sake, water: 1.5 tbsp each
- Kombu (kelp): 1cm x 5cm piece
A
Instructions
- Prepare mixture A.
Cut the kombu into five 1cm squares with scissors and mix with the soy sauce, sake, and water. - Wash the ginger thoroughly and dice it into 3mm-5mm cubes.
- Add oil to a frying pan, spread the sugar over it, and add the ginger.
- Place the beef on top of the ginger mixture and cook over medium heat.
- Once the meat starts to cook, add mixture A and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated.
- Done!
Young Ginger Syrup and Nori Seaweed Sandwiches
If you make a ginger syrup with young ginger, you can enjoy it hot or cold mixed with sparkling water. It's even more delicious with spices. The ginger, sweetened by simmering, takes on a fruit-like quality. A perfect snack to go with the fruity aroma of Hokuto Zuiso sake is a nori seaweed sandwich. It's quick to make and dangerously delicious—you'll find yourself wanting just one more.
Young Ginger Syrup
Ingredients (for an easy-to-make amount)
- Young ginger: 300g
- Granulated sugar: 280g
- Beet sugar: 20g
- Cloves: 3
- Cinnamon powder: 2 dashes
- Cardamom: 3 pods (powder is also fine; can be omitted and will still be delicious)
Instructions
- Slice the young ginger as thinly as possible, coat with sugar, add spices, and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
- Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, until the ginger has released all its moisture and becomes translucent. If it looks like it might burn, reduce the heat.
- The liquid can be used as ginger syrup, and the ginger can be added to simmered dishes like nikujaga or used in nori seaweed sandwiches.
- Done!
Young Ginger Nori Seaweed Sandwiches
Ingredients (for 2 pieces)
- Nori seaweed (1/8 cut): 2 sheets
- Butter: 2-3g x 2 pieces
- Sweet simmered ginger (from making the young ginger syrup): 5g
Instructions
- Fold a sheet of cut nori in half.
- Sandwich the butter and sweet simmered ginger inside.
- Done!
Just looking at the photos makes me hungry and crave some sake...
The Domingo editorial team tried making the "Beef Shigureni with Plenty of Ginger," and it was irresistibly delicious with its perfect sweet and savory balance! We couldn't stop eating it.
It's not only a great companion for drinks, but it also pairs wonderfully with rice.
As for the spiced ginger syrup, mixing it with hot water makes a heart- and body-warming drink for the coming cold season.
This was a very convenient recipe where both the syrup and the sweet simmered ginger can be enjoyed!
Try these recipes using in-season, Hokkaido-grown young ginger at home.
Recipe Provided By
Culinary Expert
Mae Matsuda
Based in Hokkaido. An Italian-trained culinary expert who loves kombu. Featured in the dancyu series "Where is Kombu Going?" and "Ethical is Delicious!! Visiting the Terroir of Kombu." Provides recipes for magazines, TV, newspapers, and municipal promotion projects. Featured in "The Power of Ocean's Bounty and Food JAPAN" cookbook.
