Mince crystallized ginger finely to add to recipes.
Ginger adds dynamic flavor to both sweet and savory foods in a variety of ways. Whether you have powdered ginger, ginger root or crystallized ginger in your pantry, adding ginger to your cooked and baked dishes packs a delicious punch. Crystallized ginger is a candied form of ginger root that results when ginger root is cooked in sugar syrup until it is tender and juicy. The sweet ginger root then gets a sugar coating. Mince crystallized ginger before adding it to recipes.
Instructions
1. Choose crystallized ginger for mincing that is soft and tender. If the crystallized ginger sticks together, pry it apart gently. Do not remove the sugar coating as you handle the crystallized ginger.
2. Cut the crystallized ginger into tiny slivers with the chef's knife on your cutting board. Make the slivers between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. Because the crystallized ginger is sticky, it may be difficult to mince it, but try to make your slivers as thin as possible. Cut the slivers in half both lengthwise and widthwise if you desire smaller ginger pieces.
3. Separate the minced pieces of ginger carefully--they will want to stick together. Place the separate minced ginger pieces into the small bowl.
4. Add a tiny amount of cornstarch (1/2 tsp.) to the crystallized ginger in the bowl if you have trouble separating the minced ginger into pieces. The cornstarch will help the minced ginger pieces to stay apart as separate pieces and not clump together.
5. Measure out the minced ginger you need for your recipe. If you have more than you need, place it into an airtight container and store it at room temperature until you need it.
Tags: crystallized ginger, ginger root, minced ginger, crystallized ginger, ginger pieces
