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I have noticed and tried the practice of frying the combination of ginger and garlic pieces in oil/ghee at the very beginning, prominently in Indian cuisines. However, pungent taste from the uncooked pieces tends to sting at times.

I've also tried boiling the ginger and garlic pieces in small quantity of water and then used the reduced mixture (along with the liquid) during the preparation.

I want to know if it is effective way to extract the flavor or am I doing it wrong in either or both the ways?

Tim Post
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Suraj Krishnan
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1 Answers1

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For extracting (to water / ghee / oil), the best way I've found is to slice long slivers of ginger paper thin, as thin as you can. The extra surface area provides better saturation, and being extra thin promotes optimal extraction. Remove the ginger after 10 or so minutes, or once you pick up a strong smell of it.

For flavoring where you leave it in, I like to use a micro plane and grate it very finely, while being careful not to burn it. It does get bitter if overcooked or burned so timing and temperature are important. That might be the slightly acrid / pungent taste you're picking up.

In soups and stuff, I generally just follow the recipe the first few times and then adjust if I feel like I could use less ginger to get the same result. A few slivers can give the same taste as a 1cm square chunk.

Tim Post
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