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| Chinese Ingredients
- Just Like Blighty |
Ginger |
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Ginger is a central ingredient to virtually
all Cantonese cuisine. It is virtually identical
to that bought in UK, but is always far fresher
and has a lot more taste.
When purchasing, look for ones that are firm and
are quite brightly yellow in colour, as in the
picture right. This is what I call 'wet ginger'
because it is fresh. As ginger dries so the outside
changes colour and the actual ginger then starts
to loose internal liquid. This is what we usually
get in UK, which Chinese would throw away as being
old and past-it!
Ginger is the tuber of a lily like plant that
grows several feet in height. It grows wild in
Guangdong and could be considered a slightly invasive
weed if left unchecked. There is also a flowering
version that produces heavily scented white flowers.
The tuber of this genus are never used in cookery. |
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Chinese Cookery
There are two main ways ginger is prepared for cooking
in Cantonese cuisine:
1. Wash the ginger and slice it crosswise so you end
up with disks of an eighth to a quarter of an inch deep.
These include the skin. These are then added to soups,
hot pot, and other robust dishes - and eaten if you
like.
2. The second method uses peeled ginger, which is then
very finely diced. This is usually one of the first
ingredients into the wok, along with a little oil and
garlic. Cantonese chef's never crush ginger, except
for use as a marinade (see Spare
Ribs). When used as such, it is still chopped as
above, and then squeezed tightly in the hand with the
juice being saved.
You will often find this style of chopped ginger served
alone or with other ingredients as an extra. For instance,
sik juk (Chinese rice porridge) would have a small dish
of chopped ginger, spring onions (Scallions), and a
few chopped coriander leaves all served in soy sauce.
Top Hole!
Sweet shops will also sell many types of candied ginger,
but these are never made at home. |
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