The culinary and medicinal properties of ginger have been serving people for several thousand years. This spice has such an ancient origin that it is already unknown where and when ginger appeared in the wild for the first time - ginger has long turned into an agricultural crop. The popular belief that it is a traditional component of Asian cuisine is disproved by a host of examples. Its taste and aroma decorates not only the cuisine of Asian countries, but perfectly complements many dishes from other cuisines of the world.
Ginger root fell on the European continent in the Middle Ages, and it appeared on the territory of Russia, presumably, after the journey of Athanasius Nikitin to India. Ginger is a part of products from different types of dough. In Russia, they liked to add it to gingerbread, and this tradition is still preserved. Ginger is an original and vibrant component of many drinks. Spice is very popular in the preparation of first and second courses, as well as many salads.
Ginger salads - basic technological principles
There are several varieties of ginger in the world with a more or less saturated taste. On sale in our country, black ginger processed, washed and peeled from the surface layer is most often found. Pickled ginger in jars is also sold on the retail chain. Young roots have a white color on the cut, and when interacting with vinegar, they turn pink. Sometimes pickled ginger root is tinted with beetroot juice to improve presentation. Ginger, if necessary, is very easy to marinate on your own by placing it in a vinegar solution and keeping it for several days in a dark place.
Fresh root has a sharper, burning taste and a bright characteristic aroma compared to pickled. In addition to fresh and pickled, ground ginger, which is a grayish-yellow powder, is widely used in cooking. Dried ginger has a bitter taste, but, characteristic of a fresh root, the stickiness in the powder appears slightly.
The chemical composition of ginger root allows you to store it fresh for a long time. Wrapped in a film that protects against drying out, fresh ginger root can be stored on the shelf of the refrigerator for up to six months, without losing its properties.
Which ginger is better to use in salads? Of course, fresh and juicy root, with a lemon tint and a delicate aroma of citrus, is combined with fresh vegetables. Ginger in marinated form is suitable for meat and fish, but for the preparation of warm salads it is better to use ginger powder, seasoning them with both individual components of the salad, which are subject to preliminary heat treatment, and for dressing sauces.
Many professional chefs say that every dish should have all shades of taste: salt, pungency (burning or bitterness), sweetness, acid. Ginger can be included in dessert fruit salads, as well as in fish, meat, vegetable types of dishes - it is combined with many products.
The main rule that should be observed when composing a taste composition is the harmony of taste and texture. In a multicomponent salad, not a single ingredient should stand out: the predominance of one product over others makes the cooked dish meaningless. Therefore, making a sharp taste in any dish, do it carefully and gradually, in small pieces, mix and taste.
Ginger root has one secret: it neutralizes any aftertaste. That is, for example, after eating a piece of pickled ginger after the fish, its characteristic taste and smell are no longer felt. The pungent taste of fresh ginger enhances the appetite. This is not surprising because pungency promotes better digestion of food.
1. Asian cuisine: salad with ginger, melon and mint (dessert)
Product Composition:
Cantaloupe (pulp) 600 g
Ginger Root 50 g
Peppermint 100 g
Lime 1 pc.
Sesame 40 g
Cashew 50 g
Molasses, dark 75 g
Pomegranate 100 g (grains)
Cooking method:
For salad, choose a not too ripe melon, with a sufficiently dense pulp. Remove the peel and seeds. Cut the flesh into large cubes or select from a seed-free fruit using a special spoon. Put the melon in a deep salad bowl. Remove the zest from the lime and sprinkle with it slices of fruit; cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice. Peel and finely grate a small piece of fresh ginger root, tear the mint leaves. Add to the salad. Cover the salad bowl and shake the melon so as not to mash the pieces, stirring. Put in the cold so that the melon is saturated with the juice of mint, lime and ginger.
Prepare 4 bowls or red wine glasses for portioned serving. Take 4 slices of lime, make a cut on them and hang on the edge of the glass. Gently spread the melon, sprinkle with seeds of pomegranate, ground cashew and sesame seeds. Pour molasses. Salad ready.
2. Mediterranean cuisine: salad with pickled ginger and seafood
Ingredients Composition:
Refueling:
Oil, olive 75 ml
Ground pepper, white 20 g
Lemon or White Wine 100 ml
Sugar 50 g
A bunch of mint 75 g
Salt
Tuna in its own juice (canned) 450 g
King prawns 12 pcs.
Pickled Ginger 100 g
Grapefruit (or Sicilian Orange) 300 g
Leaf salad 120 g
Rosemary for decoration
Cooking Technology:
Ingredients for dressing, combining, beat with a blender. Let it brew for about an hour. Cut the tuna fillet coarsely, grapefruit, combining them with slices of ginger. Portion plates line with vegetable salad leaves. Lay the cooked salad on them. Put boiled and peeled shrimp in each serving as a whole, two pieces. Garnish with sprigs of rosemary and pour dressing.
3. European cuisine: spicy salad with ginger
Products:
Gherkins 400 g
Cherry 500 g
Ginger, fresh 70 g
Cheese, brine 350 g
Celery (root) 150 g
Chives 100 g
Honey 50 g
Dill 70 g
Lemon juice 100 ml
Parsley 50 g
Soy Sauce 30 ml
Ground black pepper
Olive oil 50 ml
Order of preparation:
Cut into four slices, cherry tomatoes and gherkins, large cubes - cheese, small cubes - boiled celery, chop onion and leaves of parsley, dill.
Combine honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and oil, adding pepper and finely grated ginger to the mixture, pour the resulting dressing into a bowl with salad.
If desired, the salad can be decorated with rings of chopped olives, laying it down on a dish lined with salad leaves.
4. Winter salad with ginger, daikon and apples
Products:
Fresh cucumber 250 g
Carrot, red 150 g
Apples 200 g (net)
Lemon juice 50 ml
Ginger root 90 g
Daikon (or black radish) 350 g
Fine salt
Sour cream (20%) 70 g
Black pepper
Raisins, red 200 g
Cooking:
Cut the cucumber into thin slices, washed and peeled vegetables and large sweet and sour apples - into long and thin straws. Sprinkle the apples immediately after slicing with lemon juice. Add grated ginger, pepper and salt to sour cream. Shuffle. After combining all the ingredients, season the salad. Garnish with the ingredients of the dish or add greens.
5. Japanese cuisine: salad with pickled ginger, salmon and rice
Product Composition:
Salted salted 360 g
Pickled Ginger 120 g
Boiled rice (Jasmine) 180 g
Sea kale 240 g
Soy Sauce 50 ml
Cream Cheese 350 g
Sesame 100 g
Wasabi - 15 g
Order of preparation:
Roll the balls from the cheese, wetting your hands in water, 30-40 g each. Roll them in sesame seeds.
Put a layer of seaweed in a flat round dish. Put a layer of rice on top, the next layer is the "petals" of pickled ginger. Put cheese balls on ginger. Cut salted fish into thin strips and lay around the cheese. Pour the puff salad with soy sauce. Serve the wasabi sauce to the salad separately.
6. Malaysian cuisine: salad with ginger, smoked chicken and pineapple
Products:
Smoked chicken breast 700 g
Yogurt, natural 150 ml
Chili or cayenne pepper 40 g
Arugula 100 g
Tomatoes (Cherry) 300 g
Garlic70 g
Ginger 90 g
Peas, green (pickled) 250 g
Boiled rice 400 g
Curry
Fine salt
Canned Pineapples 450 g
Operating procedure:
Prepare a dressing of yogurt, curry, ground hot pepper, garlic and ginger. Cut the cherry into slices or slices, diced chicken and pineapple. Combine and mix all the ingredients, put in a salad bowl or on a flat dish. Pour over generously prepared sauce and garnish with torn leaves of arugula.
Ginger Salad - Tips & Tricks
Salad, which includes fresh ginger root, is not recommended to be stored for more than two hours. Such a salad, of course, will not quickly deteriorate, since ginger protects the dish from the propagation of harmful microorganisms, due to the fact that the root is a natural antiseptic. But it is precisely the pungency and bitterness that quickly spoil the taste of the salad, interrupting the taste of all other products.
Sharp dressings with ginger are best served separately, in a gravy boat.
Ginger root, like lemon, eliminates unpleasant odors in the kitchen. Break the root and rub the surface of the board after cutting fish and garlic. Moreover, ginger has an antimicrobial effect.
If ginger is added to hot dishes at the beginning of cooking, then its taste eventually becomes less sharp, at the end of cooking you need to add ginger more carefully so that it does not drown out the taste of other products.
Essential oils, which are found in large quantities in the ginger root, tend to quickly evaporate. Therefore, chopped or grated ginger, in the case when you need to especially emphasize its aroma, do not store for a long time in the clear. In salads of their fresh vegetables, add ginger at the very end of cooking and in small quantities.
Store cold dressings and sauces containing ginger in a closed container.
