I was in Wal-Mart yesterday, stocking up on the usual household stuff and gathering ingredients to make my favorite drink, Fresh Lemongrass Ginger Ale. Instead of buying just one or two nubs of ginger, I grabbed handfuls of the stuff, because ginger with skin tauter than Joan Rivers' deserves to be worshipped and made into a multitude of fanciful creations. I had just cleared aisle 1,342 when I heard, "Excuse me, ma'am!" from behind me. Normally, those three words are followed with, "Are those two boys bowling with the cantaloupes yours?" This time, though, both my rugrats were at home.
But the clop-clop of shoes got closer. "Excuse me, miss," then a tap on my shoulder. WARNING! WARNING! VIOLATION OF PERSONAL SPACE! There are certain strangers whose touch I welcome — my hairdresser, my masseuse, maybe that hot kid who works at Starbucks. But strangers at Wal-Mart? Hell no.
It was an older lady, 70-ish. "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you, but what do you do with those brown roots?"
I was so taken aback by her question that I actually scanned the aisles for a hidden candid camera. My first reaction was snide, "Um, you don't know what ginger is?" She shrunk about 3 inches before I felt guilty and shoveled her knees off the ground. I can be such a stupid snoot sometimes in my self-absorbed moments, especially when shopping.
So for the next 15 minutes I shook off my attitude and played chef, dietician, herbalist and horticulturist. I even sent her off with a bit of my ginger loot and wrote instructions on how to make her own batch of Fresh Lemongrass Ginger Ale. Her version included gin.
In case you're a ginger noob, too, here are the basics. Next week, I'll go into how to cook with ginger. For now, enjoy the cocktail.
Buying: Choose ginger that has dry, smooth skin, is light tan in color and firm. When you break a piece off, it should snap crisply and cleanly. The inside should be moist.
Peeling: Use a teaspoon to scrape off the skin. If you're lazy like me, don't bother peeling the incredibly thin skin (it's edible), and just scrub the root under water.
Cutting: You can spend forever chopping ginger into super-fine, even strips, or you can just grab a microplane zester and grate however much you need. This breaks down the ginger, leaving the tough fibers out. When a recipe calls for ginger "coins," cut thin rounds the thickness of two quarters. Lay coins flat on cutting board and, with the side of a chef's knife, whack the coins to break the fibers and release its flavors.
Storing: Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks in a paper bag. To freeze, grate the ginger. Spoon a thin line of grated ginger on the edge of a sheet of plastic wrap (about the size of candy cane.) Roll it up, secure the ends and freeze. When you need ginger, snap off a piece of the frozen ginger stick and let thaw.
Fresh Lemongrass Ginger Ale
Adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Makes 1 quart
1.5 lb. fresh, unpeeled ginger, cut into coins
3 stalks lemongrass, outer leaves discardedand bottom 6 inches roughly chopped
1 3/4 cups sugar
soda water
gin (optional)
lime wedges
Throw the ginger and lemongrass into a food processor, and process until the mixture gains the consistency of a thick purée. In a saucepan over high heat, add 1 1/4 quarts of water, the lemongrass/ginger purée and the sugar. Boil and immediately turn heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Strain through a couple layers of cheesecloth. Chill in fridge as long as you can wait —you'll be rewarded. To serve, fill a tall glass with ice. Add a 1/2 cup of syrup to a glass, top with soda water (and/or gin) and a squeeze of lime.
Jaden Hair blogs at steamykitchen.com.
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2008.