Ginger. One of my favorite, favorite ingredients to cook with. Extremely versatile, this modest looking rhizome contributes a bold, spicy, pungent flavor to foods with aromas of lemon, vanilla, piney resin, and pepper. Cooked the flavor ginger becomes more mild and beautiful. I love ginger. I put it in a smoothie this morning, it was AMAZING. This post is devoted to the many uses of this favorite food of mine.
What the heck is ginger though?
Old timey ginger diagram (you eat the root at the bottom)
The part of ginger you eat is actually a rhizome of the ginger plant; a rhizome is the continuously growing root that shoots out horizontally from the main root to produce new shoots. Both the tuber that grows in the soil and the flower the ginger plant produces are edible. Other commonly known edible rhizomes include Turmeric (Westerners usually only see it in the dry form, but you can find it fresh at specialty markets usually), Galangal (sometimes referred to as Blue Ginger, it is much bolder and very different from ginger), burdock root, lotus root, and water chestnut. But those other foods are for other posts, today is about ginger.
Mature ginger, picked from the ground. See those ginger roots at the bottom?
Along with their flavor, aromatic rhizomes are praised for their medicinal benefits. Ginger is known to remedy many stomach issues, including upset stomach, heartburn, indigestion, and lack of hunger. I eat raw ginger (mixed into other foods, not like a carrot) whenever I have stomach issues. Along with traditional remedies, ginger provides a number of highly beneficial vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
Okay, so how do you use ginger?
So this is how you get it in the store, in all its glory.
That peel is fibrous though, and not many people like it. To get rid of that peel use a the edge of a spoon, not with a peeler, to get the skin off; a peeler will take a lot of that valuable product and just waste it.
After peeling, slice, chop, or puree it; whatever your recipe calls for.
Recipes and common recipe riffs with ginger:
So I made a smoothie with ginger this morning to settle my stomach (early mornings don’t always agree with me). My recipe looked like this:
- 4 wt oz frozen banana
- 3 wt oz frozen raspberry
- 1 Tbsp chia seed, white
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- ice cold apple juice to taste
- ice cold water to taste
- Juice of one lemon, no seeds
Directions: Blend it up. Drink it. Delicious. It’s that simple and it made me feel great this morning. It has a beautiful shade of pinkish red to it:
other uses for ginger:
I like to add ginger to soup when I would add garlic or other aromatic spices.
Minced ginger, green onion, cilantro, and garlic added to ground meat makes a fool proof “dumpling” burger; grill and season with salt. Fry two cooked ramen patties and you have an amazing and inspired ramen burger.
Ginger added to salt heavy or dark marinades are classic and delicious, try adding ginger to any basic marinade and let it sit overnight.
In conclusion, ginger is great, and you should add it to your regular pantry items ASAP. I always have a root in my fridge, wrapped in a damp paper towel to extend it’s shelf life. It’s unassuming versatility is a great addition to any kitchen.
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