Ginger

Fresh ginger in traditional Cantonese cooking is as ancient and essential as the wok. It is said that ginger from Canton is the most aromatic. Like garlic, it is an indispensable ingredient of Hong Kong cookery. Its pungent, spicy and fresh taste adds a subtle but distinctive flavour to soups, meats, fish, sauces and vegetables. These rhizomes are golden-beige in colour with a thin, dry skin. They vary in size and range from small pieces to large knobby ‘hands’. In Hong Kong you can find peeled ginger at the markets and older, more shrivelled ginger that is used for medicinal broths. Look for ginger that is firm and clear-skinned with no signs of shrivelling.