I don’t know. I have no experience cooking with ginger. I do know that onion and garlic can basically disintegrate if you chop or mince it small enough. That’s my “secret” when I make mac n cheese. I throw in finely, finely chopped onions, that basically melt into the sauce, giving a hint of onion flavor to the dish without people unexpectedly biting into large chunks of onion.
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I mean, I cook with all of those, garlic, ginger and onions, pretty frequently, and find what you say to be true IF one finely chops or minces the thing. He had those (to me) huge ginger chunks and claimed they’d disintegrate. I’m skeptical.
It reminds me of how so many cookbooks underestimate the time it takes to caramelize onions. Anyone who’s done it knows it to be false, so it just frustrates newbies.
But also, I’m in the northern hemisphere and maybe the ginger root I get is older or different somehow? Anyone use big chunks like that and have them kind of melt away?
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Not just cookbooks, but YouTube videos. They use jump cuts to make it look like it took 5-10 minutes, and it doesn’t. Unless you want burned onions instead of caramelized.
But yeah, it seems unlikely the ginger would melt, but I literally have no experience with ginger. I just haven’t used it in anything. I’m not sure why. I like ginger. I’ve made gingerbread with dried powdered ginger. I’ve just never used the fresh stuff.
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I use fresh ginger root a lot, and it definitely does NOT melt away in big chunks. It will release it’s flavor and have a texture more like bamboo shoots, so it can still be nice, but it doesn’t dissolve like onion unless it is either chopped fine or sliced very thin across the grain. That’s a lot of work, so I use a Japanese ginger grater that primarily yields liquid and breaks up the fibers.
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Never had a chunk of ginger break down in a braise. Thai soups are often served with slices of ginger or galangale and stalks of lemongrass.
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I used to make a vegan matzo ball soup recipe that started with their version of schmaltz, which is basically mincing onion so fine it’s already completely broken down and then sauteing in oil for quite a while without browning.
Any recipe that calls for animal fat can use this ‘hack’ to make it vegan and more heart-friendly.
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I was having the same problem finding that green-capped Sistacha.
I like the Kikoman version. The only downside must be in the refrigerator after opening.
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Loaf of bread and some of the pork cheek, apple and cider cassoulet I made yesterday (it was all actually nicer colours than that, but I have a potato phone and the Big Light in the kitchen is broken):
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To endorse the comments from @danimagoo, @DukeTrout and @BakerB and provide a southern hemisphere perspective, big chunks of ginger do not melt away and if they do he’s probably cooking with ginger candy. The water goes down the sink the other way but the ginger is the same. I go nuts for fresh young ginger (the stuff that’s pink-hued with a paper-like skin) when it’s in season and use a lot. It grates more easily and can be peeled with a fingernail, but even so it wouldn’t ever dissolve.
I know, right?
The only explanation is they’re cooking at close to the speed of light and relativistic effects have kicked in.
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What’s most infuriating is when they list a recipe as taking between one or two hours, and neglect to mention you have to leave it in the fridge for at least eight hours, but better overnight.
Agree on ginger, very fresh is easier to mince (sometimes easiest in a small food processor), but ginger of any size is not going to dissolve with cooking. Old roots have more cellulose ( I assume) and are woodier, but I’ve left whole youngish ginger cooking in chicken soup /stock, and the root is still there hours later.
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I made beef stew and cornbread muffins for dinner. I more or less follow J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s stew recipe. I highly recommend it. I never was a big fan of beef stew until I made it this way. It’s all about the umami.
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I just read it now.
A lot of things to think about for me there. I don’t know why they have a real downer on cooking the veg in the stew though. I have a mirepoix type dice that goes in after the wine reduction to gently cook and large veg go in later. I do agree about the spuds - waxy ones even new are good unless you want to serve a mash.
I will definitely try some at least of the variations there.
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I actually don’t even make it with potatoes. The other human in the house doesn’t like potatoes cooked in the stew, so I usually serve it with mashed potatoes on the side. I think what works best about that recipe is starting with chuck steaks and searing those whole instead of cooking with pre-cut stew meat. I find the meat gets really tender this way without getting overcooked. And the other thing is the umami bomb. I modify it a bit because I can’t use anchovies (other human has a fish allergy), but I use Better than Bouillon, the concentrated tomato paste that comes in a tube, and a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. I also only use a little bit of gelatin. He uses a ton of gelatin to thicken the sauce. I get why he does that, but it turns the leftovers almost into an aspic in the fridge. It looks kinda gross. So I just use one packet of unflavored gelatin, and then thicken it the old fashioned way with some flour. I think it works fine.
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“Hot dog” is some meat-ish tubular-ish “wiener” enclosed in a bread-ish “bun”, with the addition of toppings pleasurable to the eater. So-called “Hot Dog Soup” would be gross with all that soggy bread-ish stuff floating around. Ew.
I started a subreddit where I post instances that break the above rules, 99% on Reddit itself (primarily /r/ShittyFoodPorn, a once-a-few-days guilty pleasure of mine. but every once in a while I see one in the wild. I like how the web can tie these things together.
I also do (have? own?) /r/MapsWithoutPEI, similar to the much more famous /r/mapswithoutnewzealand. I’m related to half the left side of the island, PEI, not New Zealand.
Just having a bit of fun. No real purpose the venture.
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We’re working a huge yearly job for the next 14 days, we start early, work all day, and come home exhausted.
So it’s 10 minute meals or as my wife calls it toddler food.
But I love it.
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Have you considered using corn starch as a thickener?
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Yeah, I have before. I don’t know why I don’t usually.
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Cornstarch turns things gloppy, which may be what you want in a pie filling or coating a stir fry, but not in a gravy or sauce. Jacque Pepin liked potato starch to thicken sauces.
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I like potato starch, but its more powerful. Easier to screw up.
I use it for coating for kara-age (Japanese fried chicken) and age-dofu (fried tofu)
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