We love the warm, peppery-sweet flavor of fresh ginger in all kinds of dishes. In the past we've talked about grating ginger with a ceramic grater or a Microplane, but what if you don't have either tool on hand? Just grab a fork.
To grate ginger with a fork, hold the fork down on a work surface and rub a peeled knob of ginger across the tines. That's it!
Even if you use a real grater at home, this trick can come in handy if you're cooking in a kitchen without one. We have Kevin West of Saving the Season to thank for this tip; Kevin says he learned it from David Tanis and that it works for garlic, too.
How do you like to grate ginger?
Related: Quick and Easy Shortcut: Mince Garlic with a Fork
(Image: Emily Ho)
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I will have to try that! I usually microplane it, but I cook in other people's kitchens all the time and they don't always have a grater. Thanks!
PS - I think you meant, "rub a knob of ginger across the tines"
I'll have to try this! Using a spoon to peel the ginger was one of the handiest tricks I've learned yet.
Umm, the a post says to rub a peeled knob of _garlic_ across the tines. I thought this article was about ginger.
That sounds like a wonderful idea, thank you!
As I don't own such a grater, I usually chop the ginger very finely, it serves the same purpose.
@strawberrypesto @kissthecook Whoops, thanks for the correction! Has been fixed.
Thanks for the tips. When the piece gets small, my finger tips might get rub into the round ceramic grater. Ouch! I have a choice using the juice or everything.
I actually bought a gadget from Triangle that grates just ginger - it's neat, and works, but just a bit difficult to clean. Other than that I used to just grate it!
We have discovered that our Kuhn-Rikon garlic press is the absolute best thing for smashing ginger. We put thick slices in and the result is a fine juicy paste while all the fibrous bits are left in the press. Since it's usually already dirty from the garlic in the same recipe, it's one less thing to clean.
I use the small side of the cheese grater. What I wish I owned, though, is the asian grater with a spiked surface. It looks like it does a fantastic job.
My best discovery of late is that if your ginger is frozen or semi-frozen, it grates like a dream. I keep my ginger in the freezer, let thaw a few minutes, and then use a microplane. It doesn't gunk up the grater like it does when at room temperature, and seems to grate finer.
I only keep ginger in the freezer and grate it frozen on a rasper/microplane. Believe me you will never go back once you've discovered how easy and effortless this method is.
Freezer it is from here on out, thanks guys. I usually just mince it instead of grating it on a microplane because I find it so uncooperative!