FoundationsPantry study 12 of 27

Ginger

All eleven

A knobbly hand-shaped ginger rhizome on a wood board with thin smooth tan skin, beside a cut face revealing pale yellow juicy fibrous flesh.

About this ingredient

Draft reference. This study is part of the cookbook’s foundations and is still being checked. Local names and cultural notes in particular are the author’s working text, pending verification, rather than settled fact.

Where it is used
All eleven
Flavour and aroma
Warm, pungent, citrusy-sweet; young ginger is milder and juicier.
How it is used
Julienned for chicken rice sauces and soups; pounded into pastes; steeped in tonics and drinks.
How to select
Plump, smooth, heavy rhizomes with tight skin; young ginger has thin, pinkish skin.
Storage
Refrigerate 2–3 weeks; freeze grated in portions.
Substitutions
Galangal is NOT a substitute (different profile); dried ground ginger only for baking.
Allergens
None common.

Names and contextPending verification

The two fields below are drafted and not yet confirmed. They are shown because they are useful, and labelled because they are not final.

Local names
Thai: khing; Malay/Indo: halia / jahe; Viet: gừng; Filipino: luya
Cultural notes
Ginger anchors 'cooling' and tonic dishes; distinguish it clearly from galangal and turmeric.

The Complete Edition

Ginger in the book

This study is one of twenty-seven that open The Southeast Asian Table, before the eleven country chapters and the hundred recipes they carry.

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Imagery is produced with generative AI tools and reviewed by the author. It is illustrative, not documentary photography of the ingredient. How these images were made.