Wash the ginger root with water to get rid of sand and dirt. Pat dry with a paper towel. Ginger roots can have lots of nooks and can be difficult to peel using a regular peeler. Use a sturdy metal spoon, with the back of the spoon facing outward, scrape the skin in a motion away from you, using the tip of the spoon.
Use a sharp large knife to cut the ginger into about 1/4-inch slices. Some people like to cut into little cubes (the meaty chewy texture is great for snacking). You can use a mandoline slicer to make your life easier
Blanch the ginger:
This part is to eliminate some of the intense spiciness of ginger. It also helps to make the texture soft and chewy later
Place the ginger in a medium-size saucepan. Add water, enough to cover the ginger. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium to let it simmer for 10 minutes. I usually stop here because I like my candied ginger to be spicy. If you want it less spicy, discard the boiling water, fill up with a new one and boil again for another 10-15 minutes.
I usually keep the boiling liquid because it makes a very spicy ginger tea, which I like.
Cook ginger in syrup:
Add sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then add the blanched ginger. Lower the heat to medium and let them simmer until it reaches a temperature of 225 F (107 C). When it reaches this temperature, we know that most of the water has evaporated, leaving you with a nice thickened syrup. If you don't have a thermometer, I suggest you get one, it takes out the guesswork and an instant-read thermometer is a useful kitchen gadget anyway. Otherwise, you can boil for about 45 minutes or so or until the syrup has thickened
To make candied ginger:
You can leave the ginger slices stored in the syrup or you can proceed to the next step to make crystallized ginger
You can also remove the candied ginger from the syrup but not coating them in sugar (to make crystallized ginger). I prefer them without the sugar-coating for snacking. Let them dry out on a cooling rack overnight. They are still sticky to the touch but shouldn't be drippy or wet anymore
To make crystallized ginger:
Leave the ginger in the syrup for one hour and then drain the ginger using a mesh strainer and let them drain for about 30 minutes. I usually keep the syrup. So I make sure to have another pot underneath to collect the syrup while draining. They are great for coffee, tea, desserts, waffles, pancakes, etc.
Lay the pieces of ginger on a cooling rack with parchment paper underneath in case some syrup are still dripping. Let them air dry for 2-3 hours. You don't want them to be too dry or too wet. Too dry and the sugar won't stick to the ginger. Too wet and the sugar coating melts
Then coat each piece of dried out candied ginger in sugar and lay those pieces back on the cooling rack to let them dry out completely. I usually just left them out overnight
Storage:
Store the crystallized ginger in an air-tight container at a cool dark place, away from direct sunlight for several months.
Store the candied ginger in syrup in the fridge for a month or longer. Store the dried out candied ginger (not stored in syrup) in an air-tight container. They can be kept at a cool dark place at room temperature for few months
Video
Notes
This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz' with some modifications.