After almost five years (!!) of experimenting with food through Budget Bytes, ginger has become one of my all time favorite ingredients. It was completely new to me when I started the blog, but once I learned how to use it I fell in love. If you’re unfamiliar with ginger, I hope this post will inspire you to give it a shot. It’s freaking fantastic.
Ginger has a unique flavor. It has kind of a spicy bite, but some how it still works equally well with both sweet and savory dishes. It’s great in cookies, smoothies, stir fries, curries, and even meatloaf. Yes, meatloaf. Here are a few of my favorite ginger containing recipes to give you an idea of just how versatile this root is…
Sweet Ginger Recipes
Savory Ginger Recipes
- Thai Turkey Meatloaf
- Easy Egg Drop Soup
- Curried Chickpeas with Spinach
- Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Spicy Coconut & Pumpkin Soup
And that’s just a few… type the word “ginger” into my search box up in the top right of the page and you’ll see just how often I use ginger. It’s pretty easy to use, no more difficult than garlic, in fact. If you’ve avoided it in the past because you just weren’t sure how to handle it, scroll on. I’ve got you covered.
How to Cook with Ginger
When you’re looking at the ginger in the grocery store, make sure to look for a plump, firm root with smooth skin (like the one on the right). It should never look dry, shriveled, soft, or rubbery (like that sad guy on the left).
Most recipes call for just one or two inches of fresh ginger, but the roots at the store will be large and with many appendages. It’s perfectly okay to break off a small nub from the large root—like bananas. You can break off the amount you need and leave the rest. There is no pressure to buy the whole thing. Now, if you did want to buy the whole thing, you can break off what you need at the moment and keep the rest in you freezer. Personally, I just break off a small amount at the store each time. It’s usually priced per pound, so a small nub is very inexpensive.
Next you’ll probably want to peel the ginger. I say “probably” because I always do, but one time I was watching an Indian cooking show and the host said she never peels her ginger and that she actually liked the flavor. You don’t say! Well, if you decide against peeling, make sure to wash it well. Ginger grows underground, in dirt and stuff. You can scrape the paper-thin skin off with the side of a spoon, or use a vegetable peeler. Whichever you prefer.
Once you have the ginger peeled (or not peeled) there are a few things you can do with it. You can slice it into thin medallions, or go a little further and mince those medallions into tiny pieces. The medallions are nice for infusing liquids because they’re easily removed (like in the chai concentrate). Mincing is nice because you get a lot of flavor without huge pieces. Ginger actually has a really nice texture and I enjoy eating larger pieces of it in my food, but it’s not for everyone.
NOTE: see how the ginger slices look kind of blue or grey? That means the ginger is getting old. Fresh ginger has a really nice light yellow hue.
If you want really small pieces, you can grab a small holed cheese grater and grate the ginger into a super fine texture. I usually end up doing this just because it’s much quicker than using a knife to mince the ginger. Sometimes, when the ginger is really fresh, it will drip juice as you grate, so make sure to do this over your pot or skillet so none of the flavor is lost!
And just one more note… Garlic and ginger together is one of the most magical flavor combinations in the entire world. Trust me. Try it. Soon. This combination is the start to many great curries and stir fries. The smell as they sauté in a skillet is absolute heaven. Ahhh my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
So, what are you waiting for? Go get you some GINGER!
And for those of you who are already ginger lovers: What are you favorite ways to use ginger? Your favorite ginger tips and tricks? Share the knowledge :D
I know that this is not the most budget-friendly option, but I buy the pre-minced fresh ginger in jars. It’s like the pre-minced garlic in jars. I like this option because it keeps for a VERY long time so I can always have fresh ginger on hand.
I too love fresh ginger! I’ve never frozen it- I go through it so fast it never seems to get old. The simplest ginger recipe ever– I learned at a Thai cooking class.
Ginger Tea: Put several unpeeled thin slices of ginger in a pot of water and simmer. The longer it simmers the stronger the tea. Adjust amounts of ginger/water/time to suit your taste.
Love your blog. Great info, great recipes, great food. Thanks so much:)
I like to chop a large nub in chunks and add it to a batch of chicken or veggie broth I’m making. Then use that stock to make a Coconut Chicken Soup. It adds an amazing depth of flavor.
what works for me – scraping with spoon leaves the most amount of ginger on the knob. i then freeze it. whenever i need some, i use my microplane zester. love, love, love it. there is NO fibers, it shreds like snow, and virtually melts into the food. you do have to increase the amount of ginger you use, because it’s so fine a texture
I also peel ginger with spoon – as it removes just the skin. If you don’t have a grater or microplane, you can mince it just with a fork. http://www.thekitchn.com/quick-tip-grate-ginger-with-a-fork-168905
I never thought I liked ginger until recently when I found a copycat recipe for my favorite hibachi sauce to put over chicken, veggies and rice. Now I can’t get enough of it! This sauce is amazing, and definitely appeals to both the ginger and “acidic” lover in me.
http://www.food.com/recipe/benihanas-ginger-sauce-108265
not an expert, but i’ve found stringy ginger is usually older, larger bulbs. ginger we eat is the plant’s root, and those little nubs are new rootlets bursting out of the parent root, ready to spread the ginger plant into a new area. so the stringy pieces have probably done their duty, feeding the green stalk and flower, and now they’re anchoring new plants before they die back. still gingery, but not yummy.
so like beth said, buy the young, fresh, plump ginger!
i like to grate ginger on the large holes of the grater–more stuff comes through, and it’s less mushy. and it’s fun to cut lengthwise matchstick pieces for stir fries, dipping sauces, and infusions. usually easy to cut that direction.
another delicious way to use ginger is for tea. excellent after dinner, and a nice warming drink for chilly days, or when you have a cold. just chop an inch-long nub of ginger very coarsly, drop it in a teapot, and add boiling water. steep for a few minutes, add a bit of honey, and that’s it!
thanks for this post, and a reminder to buy some ginger! :)
Instead of freezing I put my chunk of ginger in a pot to let it grow so I always have fresh ginger when I need it. I usually have a pot of several bits in different stages of growth. Use and repot!!
I also freeze my ginger before grating. The peel grates up nice and fine when it’s frozen so it’s not such a big deal to peel it. I have bought ginger already minced in a jar before, but it’s ridiculously expensive, compared to the fresh root.
A friend of mine keeps her ginger planted in a pot outside. She digs it up and breaks off a piece whenever she needs some ginger, then replants it. It grows back, replenishing itself (it’s a rhizome and will often grow a nice stem and leaves, a nice tropical plant!). Lasts a long time, no need to buy it at the store every time you want ginger!
ginger + scallion is also a great combo!
I always buy a big hunk of ginger, peel it, then throw the whole thing in my food processor/blender until chopped fine. Then I freeze it in an ice cube tray, so I can pop out individual portions for cooking. Works great!
I love that idea! I never thought about the food processor and freezing pre-chopped makes so much more sense.
Ginger English scones!!! They are fantastic if you are cursed with the super sick, can’t keep anything down type of pregnancies… which I am.
Oh and Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks has this amazing minty/lemony/gingery tea: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/detoxifying-mint-tea-recipe.html
Love ginger. Grew up cooking with it and I never saw my mom peel it and I’ve never peeled it.
One of my (many) favorite things to do with ginger is something I found on a blog somewhere: simultaneously making candied ginger and ginger syrup. You basically simmer thin slices of ginger in simple syrup forever, toss the pieces in more sugar, and let them dry. Save the syrup for adding to tea or seltzer water. Use the candied ginger to make the best ginger cookies ever.
I am also a freeze-and-grater for my other gingery recipes.
Now I definitely want to make some ginger syrup!
Another ginger syrup fan here…I had a wicked addition to Vernor’s Ginger ale which I have replaced with my own Ginger Soda. I don’t always make candied ginger when I make the syrup – only when I need candied ginger. Unfortunately, the syrup degrades at 5-6 days so I make a 4-5 day supply every 4-5 days.
I freeze a few knobs for other uses as Laura notes.
I LOVE Ginger!
My ginger soda syrup recipe:
about 2 cups sliced thin ginger – muddled
6 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
1 star anise
2/3 cups raw sugar
2/3 cups dark brown sugar
1 heaping large spoon, i.e a good glug of raw honey
Bring to boil, stirring until sugar and honey dissolve
Boil for 10 minutes or so.
Cool a bit.
Refrigerate overnight.
Strain.
About 1/8 syrup to 7/8 fizzy water for spicy ginger soda.
Thanks for sharing!!