Pickled Ginger

From the garden

• 8 oz fresh ginger, peeled and sliced paper-thin · young ginger with thin, papery skin is the classic; its pink tips tint the whole jar

From the pantry

• 1 cup rice vinegar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1½ tsp salt · divided: 1 teaspoon for salting the slices, the rest for the brine

1. Scrape the skin off the ginger with the edge of a spoon. It follows the knobs better than a peeler. Slice the ginger paper-thin along the length of each piece with a mandoline or vegetable peeler; you should be able to read through the slices.
2. Toss the slices with 1 teaspoon of salt and let them sit 30 minutes to draw out moisture, then blanch in boiling water: about 1 minute for young ginger, 2–3 minutes for mature, hotter roots. Drain well and pack into a clean pint jar.
3. Bring the rice vinegar, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil, stirring just until dissolved, and pour the hot brine over the ginger to cover it completely.
4. Cool to room temperature, lid the jar, and refrigerate. It's edible the next day but hits proper gari balance (mellow heat, gentle sweetness) after about a week. Young ginger will turn the brine a natural rose pink as it cures.