Ginger jam (mứt gừng) is one of the dishes many Vietnamese families can’t do without at Tet. Many desserts are made at home for the holiday, and this is one of the traditional ones. It is usually eaten with a hot cup of tea. Photo: François Nguyen, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons You need only two ingredients. If you’re a Vietnamese student abroad who can’t get home for Tet, this is one you can make where you are. Time: the peeled ginger soaks in cold water for 1 hour, and the sliced ginger marinates in the sugar for 3–4 hours. Ingredients 1.3 kg fresh ginger 700 g white sugar How to make mứt gừng 1. Peel, soak and slice the ginger Peel the ginger, clean it carefully and soak it in cold water for 1 hour. If you love it spicy, choose old ginger. Use a knife to cut it into thin pieces (1 mm), and keep them soaking in cold water until you’re ready to cook. 2. Boil and rinse Put all the sliced ginger in a pot and add water to cover it. Cook for 7–10 minutes. Then move the ginger into cold water straight away and wash it 2–3 times. Repeat this boiling and rinsing 2–3 times. Then pour all the sliced ginger onto a basket and leave it to dry. 3. Marinate in sugar When the ginger is dry, pour in all the sugar and mix well. Leave it to marinate for 3–4 hours, until all the sugar has melted. 4. Cook until the sugar dries on Pour all of the ginger mixture into a pan and cook it over low heat, stirring now and then with chopsticks. Cook until all the liquid in the ginger boils, then stir with a spoon until all the sugar has dried and clings to the faces of the ginger. Turn off the heat. Store the ginger jam in a glass jar and eat it day by day. Share:
