Fresh Ginger: How To

Fresh ginger root may not be as easy to use as powdered or jarred pureed ginger, but it sure beats the taste and quality. It just requires a little more effort.

Ginger in its freshest form is called ginger root. When buying, make sure you pick one that is firm when you give it a little squeeze. It shouldn't be wrinkly or shriveled.

From baking to Asian style cooking and soups its another favourite spice that I like to use a lot.

How To Prepare?

Now I always peel my ginger root by thinly slicing off the outer peel using a nice sharp knife. Personally I just find this faster and easier than scraping it with a spoon like others do, but its a preference thing really. Actually, I've seen some that don't bother peeling their ginger and leave the root intact. I suppose it can depend on how your using it in a dish, so if you go that root just give it a good scrub with cool water first. Personally I don't like the taste of the peel though. The good stuff's inside!

• One ginger root can go a long way, so I would only cut off what I need at the time.

• The best way I've found to grate ginger is to use a microplane. Like this one, it has a very fine grate on it that's perfect for grating not only ginger but also zesting your oranges, lemons and limes.

How To Store?

• Refrigerate any large pieces of root in a plastic zipper bag or wrapped in some paper towel. It will stay fresh up to 3 weeks.

• If your like me and you use a lot of grated ginger, then I would definitely recommend peeling and freezing it in a plastic bag/wrapped in paper towel. This is the best little trick, because when its frozen it comes out like fine a powder when grated like the picture you see above. No more struggling with annoying stringy, watery ginger!

• Frozen it will keep stored for up to a month.

Ground ginger is a lot more potent than fresh and also has a difference in taste, so I wouldn't recommend substituting the two, depending on what you are doing with it. Ground is usually best for baking with.

Fresh ginger root has more health benefits. It's wonderful for relieving nausea and motion sickness. Remember when your parents used to give you ginger ale when you had the flu? Well now you know why!

Orange Ginger Sesame Chicken

Holy smokes Batman! That's some rain storm out there today. The rain is going sideways and the street lights are coming on its so dark. Here we are, the beginning of June and it feels more like fall outside. What happened to all those lovely warm temperatures we were having. It's windy, rainy and cold out there! It makes you want to hunker down inside the house with a good book, a hot drink, and some good food. Which brings me to my question, What's for dinner tonight?

Orange Ginger Sesame Chicken!

Baked chicken just tastes so good. It's almost foolproof. Every time it comes out perfectly moist and tender. And when you cut into it, it's like cutting butter. Who says that healthy food shouldn't taste good? Lean chicken breast is one of the leanest, most protein packed foods you can eat. But it can also be boring. So why not keep it tasty and try something other than a bottle of sugary bbq sauce?

Enter the marinade. It adds moisture, increases tenderness and adds LOT'S of flavour. The molasses in this marinade gives the dish a slight sweetness, while the ginger is fragrant and zingy.

This pairs perfectly with wild rice and simple roasted asparagus. It's also a great pairing for any asian style meal. I think the next time I make this I will cut the chicken into bite size pieces first and add it too some soba noodles and stir-fried veggies.

Orange Ginger Sesame Chicken with Sweet Glaze (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (trimmed of excess fat)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp unsulfured molasses
• 1 tbsp succanat
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• zest of 1 cara cara orange (save the orange for slicing)
• 2 green onions, chopped

Method:

1. For the marinade, whisk together cider vinegar, evoo, molasses, succanat, minced garlic, thyme, and pepper in a large bowl. Place your chicken in the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but you can leave it in overnight. The longer it marinates the more flavour it'll absorb.
2. After marinating, remove chicken from fridge and place in a baking dish reserving the marinade for later. Preheat your oven to 400*. Grate ginger and zest of one orange over chicken using a microplane grater for best results.  Sprinkle chopped green onion and shallots over top. Then place orange segments on top. Bake for 30 minutes and test for doneness with a meat thermometer. Remove from the oven and let the rest for 10 minutes to let the juices reabsorb.
3. Toast the sesame seeds in a small non-stick frying pan over medium-heat. Give them a shake every few seconds or so and watch so they don't burn.
4. While the chicken rests, pour the reserved marinade into a small saucepan and place over medium-high heat on stove. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for a few minutes until it starts to thicken, swirling the pan. Serve with cooked marinade and toasted sesame seeds sprinkled over top. 

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• 1 tbsp good quality olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400*.
2. Break the tough ends off the asparagus. Place them on a baking sheet covered in parchment. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat them evenly and spread them in a single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Roast until the skin is slightly brown, about 8 - 12 minutes. The asparagus will be nice and tender when pierced with a fork.

Such a great way to cook chicken! Have you ever baked with it before?

Well I think I'm going to go spend some time today with Helene Dujardin's Plate to Pixel with a good cup of coffee, while I hide from the rain. It's such a good book for anyone looking to learn more about food photography.