Add Ginger to Your Food

Gingerroot is a hot and spicy plant that is used extensively in Asian and other world cuisines to add a flavour and enhance the taste of different foods. It has a wide range of medicinal qualities and a recently conducted study has shown that ginger, as well as other spices, can be effective in boosting the metabolic rate and helping people lose weight.

Although its exact origin is unknown, ginger was discovered by humans as an edible plant more than 3,000 years ago. It has been cultivated in Asia since the times immemorial and the Asian cuisine, especially that of China, considers ginger to be one of the most treasured ingredients, second in importance only to salt. Gingerroot had also been used in southern Europe and in the Middle East well before the Roman times. The Portuguese introduced it into Africa, the Spanish took it to the West Indies, and, by the 1500s, the Jamaican ginger became an important commodity in a flourishing trade with continental Europe.

With its clean, fresh, and spicy flavour, ginger is appreciated in dishes both sweet and savoury of many world cuisines, although it is in the Orient that it is used to its full potential. Gingerroot is an indispensable ingredient in Chinese cookery known under the name jiang. In the traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a medicine plant that is able to suppress objectionable odours, quell nausea and treat coughs. Actually, the ancient Chinese were the first who discovered weight-loss properties of ginger, describing it as a root that stimulates digestion and speeds up the body processes. They also thought that ginger can counteract the effect of mushroom poisoning due to its carminative and astringent properties and that it is powerful in cleaning up the digestive tract and purifying the blood. Dried ginger is believed to have the same medicinal power as the fresh one, so it can also be used to treat haemorrhages, constipation, urinary problems, and even dysentery.

Fresh, dried, preserved in syrup, pickled, crystallized, and ground, ginger root is readily available all year round in supermarkets and especially Oriental stores. Although it is claimed that weight-loss properties of ginger are preserved in all varieties, fresh gingerroot is the most effective in assisting your slimming diet when used in cooking in small amounts on a regular basis. In Chinese cuisine, fresh ginger is preferred to dried, too, for both flavour and texture. In different dishes, it is best paired with spring onions to create a balance in seasoning - the “hot” yang ginger is offset by the “cool” yin spring onions. When used alone, ginger is highly valued for its aromatic flavour which will complement, or mask, if necessary, the strong odours of meat and seafood. Chopped, crushed, or sliced into matchsticks, it is used to season meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. Pink pickled ginger, called gari in Japan, is the most important condiment for sushi.

If you want to lose weight, put some fresh ginger, or other hot spices if you wish, into the foods you cook. It will add a clean, fresh bite to seafood, pick up the flavour of dull meals, and cut the fattiness of rich meats such as duck or pork. And, most importantly, it will help you utilize the calories from your food into energy instead of putting them on storage into your hips or belly. Choose mature roots since they are hotter, spicier, and more fibrous, which will also supply an additional fiber to your diet. Fresh gingerroot will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator if wrapped in paper. Try the following recipe and enjoy the full range of weight-loss qualities offered by this wonderful spicy plant - ginger!

Sichuan-Style Shreddered Beef with Onion and Ginger:

Cut 10oz beef steak into thin shreds; tiny shred 1 medium onion and 1oz fresh peeled ginger root. Heat 3 tbsp sesame oil in a wok until smoky and stir-fry the onion and ginger for about 1 minute; add the beef and continue stirring for another minute or so until the colour of the beef changes. Add 1 tbsp chilli bean paste (which will add additional hotness to your dish and will further facilitate the metabolic rate and promote weight loss), blend well, then add 1 tbsp each of light soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, and rice vinegar. Cook for about 1 minute more. Sprinkle on some sesame oil, toss to incorporate, and serve hot with steamed rice (skip the rice if you want to lose weight).

Wayne Hammel