Ginger is an indispensable aromatic seasoning in many dishes, but not everyone knows how to use it properly. Used appropriately, it can enhance the flavor and appearance of a dish; otherwise, it can have the opposite effect.
1. Shredded ginger as an ingredient
Cooking often uses new ginger, yellow ginger, old ginger, and sprouting ginger. By color, it can also be divided into red-claw ginger and yellow-claw ginger. Ginger has a strong spicy and aromatic flavor and can serve as both a seasoning and an ingredient in dishes. New ginger has thin skin, tender flesh, and a mild flavor; yellow ginger is fragrant and spicy, with its aroma and texture deepening from mild to strong and from soft to firm, making it a premium variety; old ginger, commonly known as ginger mother, is ginger seed, with thick skin, firm flesh, and a pungent taste, but its aroma is not as strong as yellow ginger; sprouting ginger, with attached sprouts, can be used as a side dish or pickled, and has a delicious flavor.
When used as an ingredient, ginger is generally cut into shreds. For example, "Shreds Ginger Meat" uses new ginger and green and red chili peppers, shredded and stir-fried with lean pork shreds. Its flavor is fragrant, spicy, and delicious, unique in its own right. "Three Shreds Fish Rolls" involves slicing mandarin fish into large pieces, rolling them into cylinders with bamboo shoot shreds, ham shreds, and chicken breast shreds, and then serving them with pickled ginger shreds made from sprouting ginger, as well as scallion and red chili shreds, braised with soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar. The taste is sweet and sour, with a tender outside and fresh inside. Shredded new or yellow ginger can also be used as an ingredient in cold dishes, not only to enhance freshness but also to have antibacterial and disinfectant properties. For example, the traditional Huaiyang cold dish "Mixed Dried Tofu Shreds" involves cutting each large block of dried tofu into about 20 slices, then finely shredding them thinner than a matchstick. The shreds are blanched in boiling water three times, squeezed dry, placed on a plate, and topped with shredded ginger before being seasoned. The tofu shreds are soft and light, while the ginger shreds are fresh, tender, spicy, and aromatic.
2. Ginger pieces (slices) for removing fishy and gamey odors
When ginger is processed into pieces or slices, it is mostly used in slow-cooked dishes, such as stewing, braising, simmering, roasting, boiling, and pot-roasting, where it serves to remove the fishy and gamey odors from seafood, poultry, and meat. In slow-cooked dishes, old ginger is mainly used for its flavor, and it is discarded after the dish is cooked. Therefore, the ginger needs to be cut into pieces or slices and smashed with the flat side of a knife to make it crack, allowing the ginger flavor to infuse into the dish. For example, "Clear Stewed Chicken," with eggs added, is called "Clear Stewed Hen and Chick"; adding rehydrated sea cucumber makes it "Coral Stewed Chicken"; garnished with silver ear balls, it's called "Wind Blows the Peony"; with pork intestines, it's "Dragon Playing with the Phoenix"; and with small chickens stuffed with fish and shrimp, it becomes "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix." In all these preparations, ginger slices are essential for seasoning; otherwise, the dish would lack the characteristics of tender and fragrant chicken, delicate ingredients, and a clear, mellow broth.
In addition to seasoning during cooking, ginger is also used before heating to marinate and flavor ingredients, as in "Oil-Splashed Chicken," "Fork-Roasted Fish," and "Fried Pork Chops." In these dishes, the ginger and the main ingredients cannot be heated together, but since these ingredients have strong odors, they must be marinated with ginger slices for a sufficient time before cooking to eliminate their unpleasant flavors. For better results, a moderate amount of cooking wine and scallions should also be added during the marinating process.
3. Minced ginger to add aroma and enhance freshness
In ancient times, ginger was also called "jiang," meaning it "guards against all evils." Ginger is warm and dispels cold, and using this unique property, people often eat it with minced ginger and vinegar when consuming "cold-natured" dishes. Vinegar removes fishiness and warms the stomach, and when paired with minced ginger, they complement each other, preventing diarrhea, killing bacteria, and aiding digestion. Dishes like "Steamed White Fish," "芙蓉鲫鱼 (Fu Rong Yu Ji)," "Steamed Crab," "Drunken Shrimp," and "Sautéed Bamboo Shoots" all require vinegar to be poured over them, with minced ginger added, and some also need a sprinkle of pepper and garnish of cilantro leaves.
Minced ginger can also be cooked and eaten with the main ingredients, as in "Clear Stewed Lion's Head." The pork is finely chopped and then pounded with the back of a knife, mixed with minced ginger and other seasonings to form the "Lion's Head," which is then stewed. When ginger is minced into rice-sized pieces, it is more often stir-fried in oil before being cooked with the main ingredient, allowing the spicy aroma of the ginger to blend with the fresh flavor of the main ingredient, which is very appealing. In dishes like "Stir-fried Crab Roe" and "Sweet and Sour Pork," the minced ginger must first be stir-fried in oil until fragrant before the other ingredients are added to cook together. Ginger pieces (slices) serve to remove fishy and gamey odors in slow-cooked dishes, while minced ginger is mostly used in dishes prepared by frying, stir-frying, quick-frying, sautéing, and pan-frying to add aroma and enhance freshness.