I'm working on a ginger forward shoyu chintan ramen, and I think I have my tare close to where I want it, but looking for ways to amp up the ginger in the aroma oil.
Currently I'm doing 100 grams lard, 50 grams grated ginger, 25 grams white onion and 12 grams crushed garlic. I was thinking of reserving a teaspoon of the ginger juice and adding it after I've removed the oil from the stove and strained everything out. My thinking is less time in the heat will preserve some of the aroma that normally would boil off. You still get the depth of flavor from the remaining ginger, garlic and onion being cooked over heat, but an extra punch from less cooked ginger juice.
Am I going down the wrong path, and any hints/advice?
by MTW3ESQ
6 Comments
You can infuse the ginger on the oil the day before you prepare everything ?
I use ginger oil often and cook it one of two ways:
* **Low temp**: Equal parts chopped ginger and oil, cooked for a few hours at 80c (I do it sous vide for 4+ hours).
* **High temp**: Equal parts chopped ginger and oil, around 150c on the stove until it stops bubbling.
Very different flavor profiles. But if you REALLY want to amp up the ginger taste, I recommend using dehydrated ginger as an aromatic in the broth. It retains the spiciness in a way that non-dehydrated ginger does not. You can dehydrate ginger by chopping it then cooking it at 60C for 8+ hours.
I’m always consider the variety of ways to get the flavor you’re looking for, as well as the time/cooking you’re applying.
You could add powdered ginger in addition to fresh. The ginger juice idea is interesting to explore too!
The other idea is to split up some of the ginger, throw half (?) into the cook right away, throw the other half in for the final 30 seconds/minute.
I don’t think you need to use grated ginger. I would expect the ginger to burn pretty quickly with so much surface area. Typically when I do ginger-based aroma oils, I just peel and slice. That way your extraction time can last longer despite higher temperatures.
I also don’t think you need to worry about these flavors being volatile, particularly because you’re not capturing the water based flavors that are most prone to evaporation at these temperatures. It’ll be plenty gingery.
Don’t overthink it. Ginger shoyu is an old school ramen style; these guys have just been cooking ginger in oil until it has the desired aroma. It’ll be plenty ginger-flavored! So my general advice would be to cook slices of ginger in the fat of your choice until beginning to brown. at which time you can cut the heat and let it steep for a while before straining.
You could always grate some ginger and serve your bowls with a bit on the side for a flavor change (“ajihen”).
150g of washed and chopped ginger per quart of oil