🍱 Beni Shoga Ten (Pickled Red Ginger Tempura)

Tempura of thinly sliced pickled ginger. This dish is popular in the Kinki region, including Osaka, Nara, and Wakayama prefectures. The tartness of umeboshi vinegar and the spicy kick of ginger create a delightful flavor combination, making it a perfect accompaniment to sake. Among various tempura dishes that often feature brown or yellow hues, the vivid red color of pickled ginger tempura stands out, appealing to the eyes and arousing the appetite. The pickled ginger used in this tempura is made by soaking ginger rhizomes in umeboshi vinegar, which is the vinegar left over after making umeboshi (pickled plums). While the exact origins of pickled ginger tempura are unclear, there is a mention in a short story by Sakunosuke Oda titled "Meoto Zenzai," published in 1940: Tanekichi, who is selling tempura for a penny, including gobou (burdock root), lotus root, taro, trefoil, konjac, pickled ginger, dried squid, and sardines deep fried at the entrance of an alley. This suggests that pickled ginger tempura was already a food for common people in Osaka in the early Showa era.