Early October is Ginan Season
Early autumn foraging. Making the city your pantry.
It’s hard to miss the ginan (ginkgo nut) season – stinky parks and boulevards, grimy eldery citizens on their hands and knees across the city. Listening (for once) to my pleading wife I had always refrained from foraging and limited myself to picking up clean nuts from local vege shops and friendly neighbours. Today, emboldened by an off-the-cuff lesson by a local retired tantric meditator and astral spectrum rider (also an expert at losing his pension packet at the races) I picked up a few on the way home from a morning tea at Showa Kinen Koen.
It’s as simple as the yogi assured me. Pick them up, wash them off at home, fry them up while still in their shells, nibble with salt and shochu.
I’m pleased to belatedly add the ginan to my foraging schedule, alongside favourites Mulberry and Tokyo Poppy Seed.
(Originally posted on Tokyo-DIY-Gardening)
(This post is part of our ongoing Tokyo Local Fruit project)
