Ginger is a common ingredient in soups, Asian recipes and juices. The root contains essential oil, which help reduce nausea and it acts as an anti-inflammatory. However, if you have been overenthusiastic and added too much ginger to your dish you will want to balance out the zesty flavour. It is possible to counteract the flavour, but because ginger is pungent you might find this difficult.
Remove chunks of ginger from the dish, if it is possible Use a teaspoon or fork to fish out the ginger and reduce the amount of ginger that flavours the food. However, this is not possible if you have added too much crushed ginger, or ginger powder.
Taste the food and consider if it edible. If you have added too much ginger compared to the recipe, it might not be too overpowering and you might actually like the flavour. Try it out and then decide how gingery it is.
Review the other ingredients of the recipe. If you making a carrot and ginger soup, for example, then consider if you can add more of the base ingredients to dilute the flavour. Homemade ginger tea can be easily diluted with more hot water.
Add a small amount of the chosen base ingredients to the dish. An extra handful of bean sprouts or spinach could be enough to counteract the flavour of a stir-fry without changing the overall dish. Add more if it doesn't work, but not so much that the dish will be unbalanced with the vegetables.
Squeeze a lemon or an orange. Add this juice to the dish that contains too much ginger. The acid will balance the ginger tones of the dish.
Dilute the flavour of the ginger using cream, water or another liquid. This is a technique ideal for soups. Use soy sauce to balance out too much ginger in sushi or Asian soups.
Be aware that you might just have to accept the flavour of too much ginger. Balancing such a strong flavour is difficult without changing the overall taste of the recipe. Ask yourself if it is worth playing around with the ingredients, or if you can just eat the food.
Tips and warnings
- Be aware that you might just have to accept the flavour of too much ginger. Balancing such a strong flavour is difficult without changing the overall taste of the recipe. Ask yourself if it is worth playing around with the ingredients, or if you can just eat the food.
Things you need
- Orange or lemon juice