Ginger shoot

Zingiber officinale · Vegetable

40 pairings

The ginger shoot is the tender young stem-and-bud of the ginger plant, harvested while the rhizome is still immature and the stalk is soft, pale and flushed rosy-pink at the base. In Japan it is known as hajikami and, trimmed to a slender spear and pickled in sweetened vinegar, it becomes the blushing pink garnish laid alongside grilled fish — crunchy, sharply aromatic and clean on the palate, a vegetable eaten as much for its refreshing bite as for its bright colour.

Picking a good onedrag

Just cut, pink base, stalk stiffWilted, dull, shrunken at the neck

Shop freshThe all-rounder: hajikami, gari, salt-pickle, wok. Keep it cool, not cold - young ginger takes chilling damage below 12 C.Everyday best

Neck and blushSheen dulling, skin smooth and still pale

The stalkStill upright, the tip just starting to dry

The snapSnaps, but the break is only damp

Smell at the cutCleanly pungent, the green edge gone quiet

What to look for, from just cut, pink base, stalk stiff to wilted, dull, shrunken at the neck.

Preparing