How To Peel Ginger With A Spoon

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Learn how to peel ginger and crack open that dusty Asian cookbook. You're ready!

 

I'll just give away the secret right now and let you know the fancy kitchen tool for learning how to peel ginger is a spoon. Oh it was in the main photo, you say? Good. Great. 

Peeling ginger with a spoon is a satisfying thing, and you lose almost no ginger flesh to overtrimming, vegetable peeling or just plain laziness. Plus, now you never need to squeeze gross puréed ginger out of a store-bought tube, or omit it altogether because you don't know what ginger root looks like. It looks like the above photo. It's easy to mince once it's peeled. And peeling it is a crucial skill to know if you're going to tackle Asian or South American cuisine. Here's what you'll need:

• A good-sized chunk of ginger root (every inch is a heaping tablespoon, minced)
• A tablespoon
• Nice clean hands

Break off the nubs

Make your ginger chunk uniform by breaking off any little nubs. This will make it much easier to peel. No need to use a knife, just use your fingers.

Peel from top to bottom

When all the nubs are broken off, gently — gently! — scrape the skin from top to bottom. You'll see how thin it actually is, which is why minimal effort is needed. Try out a few practice scrapes to see how much pressure to use.

Dig out the woody parts

When most of the outer skin is gone, dig out the woody, fibrous knots. These won't cook down, so err on the side of taking more off than less. 

Scrape away the last bits of skin

Use the tip of the spoon to scrape away any remaining bits of skin, then mince and you're ready to cook. Stir-frying in a little sesame oil with garlic and onions is a good start, but dropping it into a bottle of rum is good too. Take it away!

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Ginger-loving recipes on Food Republic:

• Spicy Scallop Tartare in Cucumber Cups
• Ginger Fried Rice
• Warm Spiced Ginger Tea