Please tell a beginner how to chop/peel ginger!

[mudbug]

You can use a spoon, sharp paring knife or vegetable peeler.

There is are great primers with pictures on how to peel and chop ginger here:
http://www.allrecipes.com/slideshow/...peelginger.asp

http://www.allrecipes.com/cb/sbs/chopginger/default.asp


For great overall information about ginger look here:
http://www.taunton.com/fc/features/i...s/22ginger.htm

[Live_to_cook]

Beware that some supermarkets have no hesitation about selling you old gingerroot, which is more difficult to peel and not as tasty. You want to buy the plumpest roots, not wrinkled, and they should be firm, not tender to the touch. Old gingerroot will bend; the fresh stuff readily breaks at the joints.

What I've always done was to take a fresh root, break it into big chunks and put in a jar filled with Sherry or Chinese Rice Wine. This way it will last indefinitely and the skinn will be soft enough to peel easily with a small knife, vegetable peeler or spoon. The wine is also excellent then to cook with. Remeber too when slicing or chopping that ginger has fiber running lengthwise through it so use a sharp knife when slicing and then chopping. You can slice it lengthwise and then into matchsticks and then crosscut or just slice off rounds of it and chop away.

[shroomgirl]

or run it over a blade grater

[Mezzaluna]

I cut it in slices the size of a quarter, smash it with the side of my knife, and then chop to break up the fibers. Neater for me than using a grater, although I use it for larger quantities.

Hi all! I am not a professional cook but I love this forum! I have a question -- how do you easily peel and slice/chop ginger for soups, etc....
Thank you in advance!
Have a wonderful day!

<What I've always done was to take a fresh root, break it into big chunks and put in a jar filled with Sherry or Chinese Rice Wine>

Great idea..we have a wonderful restaurant here called Wild Ginger..they make a ginger martini...putting ginger in some kind of liquor...I think I may find out and try it myself..never thought of putting it in sherry or the rice wine. Thanks for the idea!

Thank you thank you thank you! You all are so kind to answer a beginner's questions. I really appreciate your advice.

My Chinese Cooking teacher, Sue Woo, told us that ginger root will stay fresh in sherry almost indefinitely.

What I do is to buy fresh root, peel and slice into matchsticks and put into a jar with sherry and put in fridge. Then when I need some, I take it out and chop it finer if I wish. I also use some of the ginger flavored sherry from the jar to marinate any pork or beef, etc. that I am going to use and then just top off the ginger jar with fresh sherry. Works like a charm and ginger lasts for a very long time.

Originally posted by Crudeau:
My Chinese Cooking teacher, Sue Woo, told us that ginger root will stay fresh in sherry almost indefinitely.

What I do is to buy fresh root, peel and slice into matchsticks and put into a jar with sherry and put in fridge. Then when I need some, I take it out and chop it finer if I wish. I also use some of the ginger flavored sherry from the jar to marinate any pork or beef, etc. that I am going to use and then just top off the ginger jar with fresh sherry. Works like a charm and ginger lasts for a very long time.

I like that idea.We just made a marinade with
fresh Ginger, garlic and soy that was pretty good for flank steak but it was cut from the root after a washing and not peeled,I think I'd also like to try the same as above but use a hint of orange extract.We have enough on hand that I'll see if I can preserve some
in sherry.Cool,Thanks, Bill

I put my ginger in the foodprocessor and then in sherry.
It becomes a paste that you can just get out of the jar 1 tsp at the time.
Same with garlic I bake 10 cloves at once in the oven with some olive oil and salt and pepper and then I squeeze out the garlic and put it in a jar with soemolive oil.
Stays good for weeks.
Danielle

[Isa]

My ginger is in a little bag in the freezer. It stays fresh forever. Before using just remove a bit of the outer skin with a paring knife and grate the amount you need.

[mudbug]

If storing in sherry, always pour in enough medium-dry sherry to cover the ginger so the ginger is completely submerged.

You can also store ginger by burying it in soil or sand. It lasts for months and may even grow into a plant! (prefers part sun/shade)

[Ruthy]

I used to keep the ginger in sherry or Chinese rice wine but it is now so readily available and the wine does affect the flavor. I break the root into pieces and wrap each one airtight in plastic wrap and store in the fridge. I use a lot of ginger and it usually keeps fresh for at least two weeks. As for chopping and grating - the microplane works as well for ginger as it does for citrus zest (garlic and shallots too!)

Ruthie:
Love that Microplane! Does well on nutmeg, too.
Mike

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travelling gourmand