During the summer, the best storage method is in the ground. I take a regular, ole supermarket hand of ginger and bury it in the garden. Invariably, I forget the exact location. The next time a recipe calls for ginger, I forage in the dirt until I find it. Fortunately, after a few weeks, the ginger as it continues to grow, shoots out sprouts to announce its location. After I break off what I need, I re-bury it in the ground again. This resilient rhizome continues to grow despite the multiple disruptions.
You can see the sprouts are attached to young ginger. The skin is thinner than "older" ginger, the flavor is more mild and the ginger itself is less fiberous.
A note of caution: One winter, I experimented with growing ginger in a pot indoors, and leaving a hand outside, buried. The ginger inside turned mushy, fiberous and hollow: a disaster. The wintered-over ginger was equally disastrous. If you've had success growing ginger in the winter in a snowy climate, I'd love to hear about it.
For more insight on fresh ginger, visit Lydia's blogs: The Perfect Pantry and Nine Cooks.Peanut Dipping Sauce
This is great for an Asian style crudités or Chicken Satay.
3 tbs. lemon grass, chopped
3 tbs. garlic, chopped
3 tbs. shallots, chopped
1 tbs peanut oil
chicken stock
10 oz. raw peanuts, toasted
1 tbs. mirin
½ lime, juiced
2 tbs. rice wine vinegar
3 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs fresh cilantro chopped
1. Sweat 3 tbs. of ginger with lemon grass, garlic and shallots in peanut oil
2. Puree above in a food processor with peanuts, remaining ginger, and chicken stock to thin.
3. Season with lime juice, rice vinegar, mirin and soy sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.
4. Stir in fresh cilantro
Labels: dips, recipes, urban gardener
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) DATE:7/16/2008 04:23:00 PM Thanks for showing me your ginger technique -- I've shared this with many gardening friends, and I suspect there will be a run on "hands" of ginger at our local Whole Foods this week! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: DATE:7/16/2008 09:57:00 PM Clearly you're not using ginger daily ;) ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Julia DATE:7/18/2008 08:06:00 AM Lydia, have you planted the ginger yet? I've been told that they get a beautiful bloom too.