"In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. We've talked about ginger before and you can use either ground ginger as directed or about 1 1/4 teaspoons of fresh ginger. Believe it or not, in this recipe, I actually prefer ground ginger; it has a slightly different flavor that I think infuses better in the sauce than fresh ginger. That being said, I used fresh here because I had a bunch of minced ginger in my freezer and I didn't want it to go to waste. And the sauce came out great. So whatever works for you.