How To Cut Ginger
If you love cooking with ginger but struggle with the prep work, you’re not alone. Ginger can be a tricky root to work with, but with the right technique, you can quickly and easily cut it to perfection.
In this post, we’ll show you how to cut ginger like a pro, including tips on selecting the right ginger root, preparing it for cutting, and different methods for slicing and dicing.
Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a beginner in the kitchen, these tips will help you master the art of cutting ginger in no time.
Video: How to cut ginger
Step 1: Wash and Clean ginger
Yes, I said you should wash it. But you say, I am going to peel it before I cut it up so why bother?
The reason is you do not know what is on the surface and as you cut the ginger you are going to work what is on the surface onto the slices that you’re going to eat.
So, this is so simple, just run it under some cold water and scrub the root. Use a brush or just get aggressive with your hands, it is up to you.
After you wash go ahead and pat it dry.
Step 2: Remove the skin From Ginger
Before you cut your ginger you’re going to want to prepare ginger first. This means cleaning it and peeling the skin of the ginger.
You are going to want to remove the skin of the ginger. It does not have a great flavor and the skin is really easy to remove.
I recommend using a spoon. I cover all the steps in my video on how to peel ginger.
Let’s dive into the different ways how to cut ginger roots.
Step 3: Slice the Ginger
Cut off one of the nobs of the ginger. I like a piece that is about 2 in length.
The first cut we will do is the slice.
After you have removed the skin I like to flatten one side of the ginger by taking a nice smooth cut along with one of the sides of the nob.
You can slice the ginger to whatever size and dimension you like. It can get difficult to get square slices when the ginger tends to be round.
Do you use ginger paste? If you run out have a post all about ginger paste substitutes.
Step 4: Julienne the ginger
This is another definition of cutting ginger into matchsticks. You want to follow the steps for cutting and then you want to flip it over and make strips at 1/8″ thick.
As you continue to do this you will have juliennes of the ginger. These steps are for all types and varieties of ginger.
Step 5: How To Chop ginger
If you are looking for more of a chopped finish with your ginger all you have to do is take the matchstick sliced ginger in the last step and bunch them together into a pile all going in the same direction.
Take your sharp knife and start to chop the bunch to the thickness that you are looking for.
After you chop the ginger then you want to store your ginger properly.
Alternative Ways To Cut Ginger
You could also mince ginger or if you have a Microplane you can grate ginger, here is how to do it.
How To Mince ginger
Now to mince ginger you want to follow the steps above for chopping and then go ahead and mince. This is really simple. You are just trying to make the ginger smaller than what you have already done.
I like to place my hand on the top of the knife with my palm open toward the tip of the knife.
I chop the ginger with the top of the knife and go back and forth until I get the ginger to the mince that I am looking for.
How To Grate ginger
Grating ginger is probably the easiest way to get to the smallest size of ginger very quickly. As long as you are not looking for finished little chopped pieces this works great.
Peel back the skin of the ginger with a spoon and grate the ginger just like you would with cheese on a cheese grater.
It is also important to make sure that your ginger has not gone bad.
How to Cut ginger for juicing
When you juice ginger there really is no need to get it really cut up too much. The blender is going to cut it up.
You do want to peel and wash and clean the ginger.
Ingredients
- 1 ginger root
Equipment
- cutting board
- chef knife
- spoon
- grater
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