One of my favorite tips to share for time saving is prep. You hear me talk about it all the time. Wash and prep your veggies when you come home so they are ready for cooking when you are ready to cook. Today is prep but it is all about flavor!
GINGER – Fresh ginger adds great flavor to soups, stir-fries, fried cauliflower rice and marinades. It is an inexpensive ingredient, adds tons of flavor and has numerous health benefits. Most home cooks I know may find it shriveled up in the corner of the crisper drawer in the fridge when they remember they purchased some. We have all been there. Most folks also do not know how to peel ginger. The outer skin is actually very paper thin and it is the root itself that is tough and coarse. To peel fresh ginger root, use a spoon and gently scrape the skin away.
What you may not know about ginger is that it freezes extremely well and does not lose it’s flavor! This is fantastic news for all you ginger lovers. But it gets better! I peel my ginger, slice into thin flat pieces, cut those into strips and then mince. I freeze my ginger in a small zip bag in the freezer. Then when I need ginger, I retrieve my bag of ginger, give it a good few smacks with a wooden spoon to separate the small minced pieces and take out what I need to use! It defrosts in minutes.
Tonight I had purchased a London Broil on sale at the grocery store. It is a lean piece of meat but if not cooked right, will come out with little flavor and tough. So I made a marinade of fresh garlic, minced ginger, onion, red pepper flakes, lime, olive oil and coconut aminos. I am going to let it marinade all night and then tomorrow will grill it to medium rare, let it rest for 15 minutes and slice it very thin against the grain so it will be the most tender. Having that minced ginger in the freezer meant that my marinade came together in a few minutes.
Imagine making a chicken veggie soup in the slow cooker and adding some of the ginger to it during the last hour for a delightful ginger chicken and veggie soup. Or pulling a quick dinner together with a brown rice and veggies, ginger would brighten up that dish. Upset stomach, boil some ginger and then let simmer for 15 minutes and you have ginger tea that will soothe the stomach.
The only thing I did that I would not suggest is putting ginger in a plastic storage container. I had minced about 2 cups of ginger and put it into a plastic storage container, When I needed it, all the pieces were frozen rock solid. By putting it in a baggie, I can rap it with a wooden spoon or the side of my hand to separate them.
I will continue to write Healthy Flavor Tips for you. When we cook with real natural food and do not use artificial flavors or ready made ingredients, we need to focus on how to get the most flavor out of our food. Ginger is one good way to do that.
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