Dried Myoga GingerDrying Time, Storage, and a Tip When It Won't Dry

Myoga is a classic Japanese garnish. The part we eat is the flower bud of a ginger plant, which pushes up from the ground. It has a distinctive fresh, gingery aroma. Outside Japan, it’s sometimes sold at Japanese grocery stores in summer.

Dried well, its aroma becomes even stronger and brighter. Dry some when it’s plentiful in summer, and you can use it after the season as a garnish, in sweet vinegar pickles, tempura or simmered dishes.

	Drying time	Storage
Dry	2–5 days	1 month at room temperature
Semi-dried	Half a day–1 day	5 days in the fridge

Drying times assume drying during the day in sunny weather and bringing them in at night.

How to dry myoga

1. Wash: Wash the dirt off the base and pat dry well with paper towels. Trim a thin slice off the hard base.
2. Cut (optional): You can dry it whole, but halving it lengthwise speeds up drying.
3. Lay out and dry: Spread on a basket without overlapping, somewhere sunny and breezy. Bring in by evening.
4. If it won’t dry, loosen the layers: Myoga is made of many tight layers, and the inside dries slowly. Once it’s partly dry, gently loosen and spread the outer layers by hand so air reaches the inside.

Where and when to dry is covered in How to Dry Vegetables, and tools in Tools for Drying Vegetables.

When it’s done

Dry (2–5 days)

It’s done when it has shrunk thin, turned brownish, and has no springiness or moisture left inside when pressed. The thick base dries last, so check there.

Semi-dried (half a day–1 day)

The surface is dry. Chopped as a garnish or soaked in sweet vinegar, it has a concentrated aroma unlike fresh.

Day by day

Before drying

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Storage

• Dry: Put completely dry myoga in a bag or airtight container with a desiccant, and keep somewhere cool and out of direct sun for about 1 month.
• Semi-dried: Keep in a bag in the fridge and use within about 5 days.
• Frozen: Both dry and semi-dried can be frozen for 2–3 months.

Fuzzy white or green growth, black spots or a bad smell are signs of mold or spoilage. Don’t eat it; throw it away. More in How to Store Dried Vegetables.

Rehydrating and using it

• Rehydrate: Soak dry myoga in water for about 10 minutes, then chop.
• As a garnish: Chop rehydrated myoga and put on somen noodles, chilled tofu or miso soup.
• Sweet vinegar pickles: Blanch rehydrated myoga briefly and put it in sweet vinegar while still hot. Keep in the fridge and eat within about a week.
• As is: Add without soaking to miso soup, simmered dishes and mixed rice.