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Fresh ginger

Vegetables · Aromatic roots & stalks

Fresh ginger

Knobbly, tan-skinned rhizome with hot, citrusy flesh, grated or sliced into curries, stir-fries, teas and baking.

Also called: ginger root, adrak, zencefil, jengibre

357 recipes with it

Photo: HaJunkiyada, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

What it is

Fresh ginger is the underground stem (rhizome) of the ginger plant, with thin beige skin and fibrous, pale-yellow flesh. Young ginger is pinkish, thin-skinned and juicy; older ginger is more fibrous and hotter. Galangal looks similar but is paler, harder and more piney; ground ginger is dried and tastes warmer and less fresh.

Zingiber officinale

How it’s used

  • Grated with garlic as a curry base
  • Sliced or julienned in stir-fries and soups
  • Steeped for tea and chai
  • Pickled (gari) to serve with sushi
  • Grated into marinades and dressings

Characteristics

Taste
Hot, peppery and lemony with slight sweetness.
Aroma
Bright, citrusy and spicy.
Texture
Firm and fibrous; very young ginger is tender.
When cooked
Mellows with long cooking; raw or briefly cooked it stays sharp. Its enzymes can soften meat in marinades and stop gelatine setting if used raw.
Sold as
fresh, ground, paste, dried
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Usually eaten raw, Mainly a seasoning, Used for tempering (tadka)

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep unpeeled in the fridge in a bag or container; it also freezes well and grates easily from frozen. Discard if soft, wrinkled or mouldy.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
80 kcal
Protein
1.82 g
Carbohydrate
17.77 g
Fat
0.75 g
Fibre
2 g
Sugars
1.7 g

USDA FoodData Central: Ginger root, raw.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Ground ginger — About 1/4 teaspoon per tablespoon fresh; suits cooked dishes and baking, not fresh-tasting dishes.
  • Galangal — Works in Thai and Indonesian dishes; more piney and less sweet.

Related ingredients

Recipes with fresh ginger

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