Use Dried Ginger to Make a Scented Oil
It seems like it was only yesterday that I threw a piece of ginger into the deep fryer to fry it, but it was actually a month ago. And while I was able to grate it on a few slices of tiny tomato toast , I couldn’t get through the entire fried root until it turned into a hard and shriveled shell.
It was clearly not ideal, but dried ginger – whether roasted or fresh – still has a lot of flavor trapped inside its cell walls. All you have to do to access it is pour screaming hot oil over its shriveled body.
But first you have to slice it, and that requires a lot more force than I originally thought, so make sure your blade is sharp and your hands are steady. Once sliced, place it (and some salt) in a large heat-resistant container (I use a large pyrex measuring cup) and heat some neutral oil until it starts to smoke. Pour hot oil over chopped ginger, stir, then let cool, strain and refrigerate until ready to use.
I used a ratio of 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt to 2 tablespoons dried ginger, but you can add a little heavier ginger if you need a lot. You can also add some garlic – useless tiny cloves of garlic are great for this. Just break them up and put them in a container. A couple of pinches of monosodium glutamate will give a pleasant result, just like any other flavor you would normally add to chili oil. You can also add dried ginger to your regular chili butter recipe; just keep the pieces large enough to be caught or avoided. Unlike minced garlic chunks, roasted and dried ginger chunks have no texture.
As with any oil that has fresh ingredients, use it right away or store it in the refrigerator. As the University of Idaho expansion program helpfully explains , raw ingredients like garlic or ginger can be a source of Clostridium botulinum (botulism), and this material loves the anoxic environment you create when you surround it with oil.
Once your oil has cooled down, you can start sprinkling it on anything and everything. I like it with rice, eggs, bread and almost all vegetables, and it makes a great base for salad dressing or dipping sauce.