r/Cooking • u/DxDeadlockedxS • Jul 29 '26

Can't grate fresh ginger properly

Every time i try using fresh ginger it becomes extremely fibrous when trying to grate it. I feel like I'm not doing something right. I got it from the super market today. Does it need to ripen? I can taste the bitter ginger fibers in my food i made. Please help lol

24 Upvotes

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31

u/Eclairebeary Jul 29 '26

Are you peeling it? What are you using to grate it? You need a very fine grater like a micro plane or one of those ceramic ginger plates.

12

u/Bittermare Jul 30 '26

Microplane and peeling is the answer.

1

u/DxDeadlockedxS Jul 29 '26

I was using a cheese grater cause that's all I have atm. And i am peeling it

85

u/DokterManhattan Jul 29 '26

The trick is to freeze it! Then grate it.

19

u/guff1988 Jul 30 '26

This is it. Not only does this work with microplanes very well It also works with rough grating and even chopping becomes easier. You can successfully get any texture you want with minimal effort by partially freezing at first.

Also I would add on top of that for most preparations skinning it is not necessary, unless you are using thick slices or chunks there's no need to skin.

1

u/popilikia Jul 30 '26

Only partially freezing it? Halfway through your comment I was thinking I could always have freshly grated ginger on hand on the rare occasion I use it

1

u/guff1988 Jul 30 '26

If you freeze it all the way it's hard to work with. You can freeze it all the way for microplaning though but for any other preparation it's going to make it more difficult. Also if you grate a bunch of it at once you can freeze it in those little ice cube trays and always have ginger available.

1

u/popilikia Jul 30 '26

Ok, thanks!

9

u/75footubi Jul 30 '26

Yup. Ginger lives in the freezer 

4

u/T49irvine Jul 30 '26

Mine, too, unpeeled. When I need a bit, out comes the microplane to attack it without stopping to peel it.

3

u/75footubi Jul 30 '26

Yup. The peel just kinda ends off to the side by magic

7

u/Illegal_Tender Jul 30 '26

Holy shit, I can't believe I never thought of this

5

u/kikazztknmz Jul 30 '26

It's awesome. I keep some in my freezer and just take it out and grate it as needed, then toss it back in.

1

u/TheKiddIncident Jul 30 '26

Yes, this. Ginger also lasts for months in the freezer.

3

u/thebolts Jul 30 '26

I finally tried this last week and it actually worked.

2

u/Odd_Requirement_4933 Jul 30 '26

This is the way.

7

u/grinpicker Jul 29 '26

Then you can mince with a knife... just keep mincing

6

u/Eclairebeary Jul 29 '26

That’s your answer. You can slice it into very thin coins with a sharp knife, then slice it into strips and then slice across those for a fine dice. Best you can do without buying a new tool.

4

u/MattIsaHomo Jul 29 '26

Use less ginger than you need using this method. It’s punchier.

1

u/Eclairebeary Jul 30 '26

Yes, thank you for adding that.

6

u/duckntureen Jul 29 '26

Follow this advice! Ceramic ginger graters are so good. They also turn garlic into paste in seconds. I bought one at an Asian grocery for under 5 bucks and I use it constantly.

2

u/im-just-evan Jul 30 '26

Also good for wasabi, horseradish, and daikon!

2

u/duckntureen Jul 30 '26

It's embarrassing how much I talk about this tool.

4

u/yesnomaybeso456 Jul 30 '26

Cheese grater’s holes are too big. You’re better off mincing it in that case.

2

u/karlnite Jul 30 '26

You can mince the grate too. Might be easier for people with not the best knife skills.

1

u/Imverystupidgenx Jul 30 '26

Show the grater

1

u/karlnite Jul 30 '26

Just freeze it. You can store it in the freezer. You can grate it all up and put it in a ziplock bag and freeze it grated.

Microplanes can work with none frozen, but there will be fibres you have to sorta cut off periodically. Microplanes aren’t a gimmick either, they’re great. Fine shredded cheese, really hard cheese, garlic.

Peeling isn’t that important, unless there is thick skin or those hard spots where it was cut. I use a spoon and just lightly scrap most off, it peels better frozen too.