If you’ve baked a pumpkin pie in the last decade, chances are you have a jar of ground ginger lying around in your spice cabinet. And, if you’re caught up on your trendy wellness reading (ginger is said to have anti-inflammatory properties, and aid with motion sickness, upset stomachs, and low energy), you may even have a few roots of the fresh stuff lying around in your crisper drawer. The warming, pungent flavor packed within this nubby root has many powers in the kitchen—for sweets and savory dishes and drinks alike.
Ginger shouldn’t be sequestered to holiday baking, gingerbread house making, and gingersnap crusts. It’s star ingredient in many main courses, and even a headlining backnote in some culture’s cuisines. It’s long been valued in China, India, Japan, and apparently was used historically for its medicinal properties in parts of Greece. You’ve no doubt seen it pickled, as an accompaniment to sushi, but the fresh sliced stuff can is also classically stewed with other spices and chickpeas in the classic Indian dishes chana masala or chicken tikka masala. It can be infused into homemade ginger oils, or simmered into syrups to make ginger beer, ginger ale, and (cocktails.
Cooking with ginger doesn’t have to stop at dinner and drinks. You can use it in hot breakfast cereals or rice porridges, lunch soups, and refreshing salad dressings for added kick. These 35 creative uses will leave your taste buds dancing a spicy ginger jig.
Two days resting in the fridge helps cannoli dough become light and bubbly. You will need cannoli molds for frying. Serve within a few hours, before the shells soften. Get the recipe for Ginger and Cocoa Nib Cannoli »
We first fell in love with these lightly spicy lo mein noodles when chef Marcus Samuelsson dropped by our kitchen to test drive some recipes for his Harlem restaurant, Streetbird Rotisserie. Laced with oyster sauce, ginger, and yuzu kosho and tossed with pickled mustard greens, the dish is a medley of sweet, tangy, spicy, and sour. Get the recipe for Sho’ Nuff Noodles »
A garnish of chopped peanuts and slivered cucumber and carrot add crunch to the silky, savory Chinese-American noodle dish. Get the recipe for Sesame Noodles »
This one-pot sticky rice dish from chef Tadashi Ono combines sweet squid, spicy ginger, and shredded seaweed. It makes for a surprisingly satisfying, simple meal thanks to the complex layering of savory, spicy, and subtly sweet flavor.
Kabocha, Japanese pumpkin, makes a lighter pie with a vivid orange color. This pie trades in usual expected flavors for a slightly spicy dose of ginger and black pepper. Get the recipe for Sweet and Spicy Kabocha Pie »
Ginger root is peeled, cubed, and then juiced in an electric juicer to create the spicy, intense base to which lime juice, simple syrup, and soda water are added. Get the recipe for Fresh Ginger Beer »
After discovering that fresh whole wasabi plants were available in the United States, Adrian J.S. Hale found all kinds of innovative uses for them, such as this butter-rich sauce in which the pungent heat of the wasabi root, or rhizome, is balanced by the delicate earthiness of the leaves for a mild heat and slight bitterness that accentuate the sweet flavor of plump pan-seared scallops. Get the recipe for Seared Scallops with Wasabi-Ginger Butter »
This recipe, from Gluten Free Girl & The Chef blogger Shauna Ahern, appeared in our 2012 Cookie Advent Calendar. Shauna says: “Every year when my mother made her pillow-soft molasses cookies, I just sighed with happiness at the holidays. But by the time she was ready to hand over the baking, I could no longer eat gluten, and she couldn’t find that recipe. So I fiddled and baked until I came up with these.” Get the recipe for Gluten-Free Ginger Molasses Cookies »
By trademark, this Bermudan combination of rum and ginger beer requires Gosling’s Black Seal Rum; similar drinks with names like dark ‘n foggy or light ‘n stormy use other rums. Get the recipe for Dark ‘N Stormy »
Sansho, the Japanese equivalent of Sichuan pepper, adds kick to these sake-and-mirin-marinated wings. A fresh squeeze of lemon brightens them up for serving. Get the recipe for Japanese-Style Chicken Wings »
This vibrantly orange dressing was made famous by Japanese-American steak houses. It gets its incomparably clean flavor from puréed carrot and fresh ginger. Get the recipe for Carrot Ginger Dressing »
This extravagantly spiced black chai tea, infused with ginger, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and black pepper, is a staple in Northeast India. It is often served on city streets by vendors, who hawk the hot steaming beverage from makeshift metal trays. See the recipe for Masala Chai »
Infused with ginger and black pepper, this syrup makes a great homemade ginger beer: Just mix one part syrup to three parts soda water. Get the recipe for Ginger Syrup »
Inspired by our list of Friday cocktails, bartender Michael Neff noticed that bitter flavors were prominent, as were fizzy drinks made with fresh fruit and herbs. To that end, he created a modified Pimm’s Cup, using Cynar to add a bit more bitter tang and ginger beer for spice. Fresh fruit and herbs round out the (almost) traditional summer refresher. Get the recipe for Pimm’s Cup #21 »
A refreshing marriage between a Tom Collins and a Dark n’ Stormy, this lime and ginger beer-spiked gin cocktail has an intriguing herbal undertone thanks to Amaro Abano, a zesty Italian digestif with notes of bitter orange, cardamom, and white pepper. Get the recipe for Cool Confusion »
