Here's How To Grate Ginger Without A Special Tool

Nothing beats the intense burst of spicy flavor of fresh ginger root, but not everyone can say they have a garlic grater to get at that flavor. Using a fork to grate ginger beats going out of your way to find and purchase a special tool for the job, especially if you don't often grate items like ginger or garlic. It's also useful if you have a garlic grater but don't want to get it dirty for a small use, like adding some fresh ginger to a cup of green tea.

For this method, hold the fork face up on a cutting board and simply rub the ginger root back and forth across the prongs – simple as that. The fork method requires a bit of elbow grease to do it right, but there is a trick for that as well. And it's worth it to be able to use freshly-grated ginger without a rarely-used tool clogging up your precious kitchen storage.

There are lots of ways to dress up a plate with fork-grated ginger. Unfortunately, there is a tradeoff to the convenience of this method in that it requires more effort than using a dedicated grater. Luckily, you can freeze the ginger beforehand to make it easier to grate.

Once you're ready to start grating, you can also add fork-grated ginger to buffalo sauce for an unexpected, earthy tang to your wings. The coarser shreds created by the fork method would also shine in an extra-gingery batch of ginger snaps. The larger pieces of fresh ginger will form intense micro-pockets of flavor in the cookie, which will taste brighter and fresher with real ginger as opposed to ground powder.

Grated ginger is also the star of many delicious sauces that can be used to dress up an even wider range of foods. We're thinking of something like a magical ginger-scallion sauce or a classic sweet-and-spicy sauce.