No one is ..

. asking ..

. did you grow that ginger ..

., Steve ?

I did, David!

But, notice the #3 root on the right. It's the one from the grocery store, purchased in the spring. Along with its two "offspring," it has been in fridge for about a month. It has begun to look a little peaked but I have checked with those who know - the old root is usable for seasoning!

Ginger roots are not like seed potatoes. They do not deteriorate away through the growing season. The other pot of ginger that spent the summer near the open greenhouse door, didn't do very well. But! I didn't really lose anything beyond the bother of putting the roots in pots and watering them. the same roots came out of those pots and ... they reproduced themselves.

I'd better not leave the old root much longer but I've never used ginger except out of a bottle for desserts. What we use gingerroot for here at home is with green onions and beef. Fry, put it over rice ... easy enuf. Use it just for its fresh flavor!

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2922-beef-with-scallions

Steve

Did you get any flowers?

i use ginger in tons of dishes. The recipe you posted looks great and with a drop of sesame oil a lot like what my local Chinese joints would call Mongolian beef.

try fried minced ginger with halved cherry tomatoes, white wine, basil, and chicken cutlets over baby greens

No flowers, David. The plants grew fairly tall. They had a warm environment in there but they probably needed several more months to complete their normal life cycle.

I'd be inclined to slice the ginger, so I could take it out when the chicken and veggies arrived on my plate. Wine, cherry tomatoes and chicken, eh? Ginger chicken ... I couldn't just use ginger ale to deglaze the pan ..?

Mongolian beef, yep. My simple version I've probably made for over 30 years. Dad even liked it.

What I may use ginger for is in a marinade, just to change things a little. The beef can be used in various ways but if I'm cooking, I seldom cook beef or chicken without using a marinade first. I used to really tire of beef when I was a kid on the farm. Then there's pork - cured and smoked but I don't do that.

My marinades are simple, just 1:1, sauce and vinegar. I may use a half measure of oil. Variations are easy in that I'm likely to have a choice of 3 different sauces and 3 different vinegars on the shelf. That's 9 combinations right there! But, whether I include garlic or Mrs Dash or ginger, put 2 different sauces in, add a little sesame oil ... but hey! keeping it simple has value.

Steve

Another great thing to do with ginger is mash it into a paste with garlic which would work great with marinades. This is the foundation of many Indian dishes both in sauce and marinades.

Add yogurt and spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric) to taste, with a long marinade and over a hot grill this is how you make chicken tikka.

If you want to talk cured pork that's a different topic but I do that too

2017:

1 pot ツ

Steve

Wow!

I did a "ginger experiment" this year, and you're making me want to dig it up and take a peek!

If ya want to use it,

ya gotta dig it!

Mine will not have a heated home. I suppose, a new root or 3 will have to be purchased in the spring. I did use the original spring root in yesterday's cream of carrot soup. It was fine! Maybe a new root will be around by then. It's all an experiment for me, too!

Steve

Thats awesome, Steve. I don't know about culinary ginger, but when we lived in Hawaii, there were a number of really beautiful gingers grown as ornamental plants.