Garlic in Asian Cuisine

Garlic is a key ingredient in most Asian cuisines, with the exception of Japanese. Although it does crop up in a few dishes, the Japanese, like the Brahmins, believe that garlic inflames the passions, so its use is very limited. This is certainly not so for the rest of Asia; in China, garlic, ginger and spring onion are the ‘holy trinity’ that forms the base of a huge number of dishes. A North Indian ‘sofrito’ would consist of garlic, ginger and onions, but garlic is also sliced and fried to give a different flavour and texture or employed as a garnish in the dish.