Sweet and Sour Pickled Young Ginger

Why people make this

There is almost no kitchen in Guangdong or Hong Kong that does not have a jar of sweet-sour pickled young ginger tucked somewhere. This is one of the most time-honoured everyday food-therapy preparations in southern Chinese cooking — not a soup or a tea, but a simple condiment you make once and enjoy over weeks or months. Young ginger (picked before the fibres toughen) is naturally milder and juicier than mature ginger, and when softened in sweetened rice vinegar, it becomes crisp, refreshing, and gently warming all at once. Nourilo has been making this for years and considers it a small but meaningful daily habit for looking after stomach health and keeping the digestion comfortable.