I use fresh Ginger for cooking very often. I love its hot & spicy flavour. If you love Ginger, you might enjoy this ‘Ginger Tsukudani’. ‘Tsukudani’ is commonly small fish, shellfish, seaweed or vegetables cooked in Mirin, Sugar and Soy Sauce to preserve the ingredients. They are great condiments for freshly cooked rice and tofu, too.
Ingredients
Fresh Ginger 100g
Sugar 1 tablespoon
Soy Sauce 2 tablespoons
Mirin 2 tablespoons
Water 1/2 cup
‘Okaka/Katsuobushi’ Bonito Flakes 1 sachet (2.5g)
Toasted Sesame Seeds 1 tablespoon
Method
- Peel the skin of Ginger and slice thinly. If you prefer, you can slice them into thin strips. Thinner is better.
- Place the ginger in a saucepan, add Water just enough to cover, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and discard the water. This will help to reduce the unpleasant taste of ginger.
- Place the ginger in a saucepan again. Add 1/2 cup Water, Sugar, Soy Sauce and Mirin, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the sauce is gone.
- Add Bonito Flakes and Toasted Sesame Seeds and mix to combine.
Comments
Jon Fields
17/04/2025
Thanks for this basic recipe! I use 1/2 cup dashi stock (made from dashi konbu and hana katsuobushi) to replace water. I also add 1 tsp sherry vinegar. These extras give it gives much extra flavor / umami.
To serve the tsukudani like an appetizer, place 14g on 6 inch size (limed) corn tortillas and top with 7g aged cheddar cheese. Then microwave for 20 secs at 600W to melt the cheese over tsukudani. 2 appetizers for each person!
Hiroko
18/04/2025
Jon, thank you for your comment. What you described is beyond my imagination or ideas. I always eat this type of food with rice, and never thought of eating it with corn tortillas and cheese!!! It’s interesting to find how other people enjoy the same food.