Ginger is a spice that is found throughout Chinese cooking. It is used for its delicious pungent and light peppery flavor as well as it’s health benefits and medicinal qualities. Ginger can be purchased at most local or Asian grocery stores and is found in three different forms, old ginger root, young ginger root, and powdered ginger.

Old Ginger
Old or Mature ginger root is the type of fresh ginger that is commonly found in the produce section of most local grocery stores. This ginger has a pungent peppery flavor and is used in most stir fries, fried rice, and other popular Chinese recipes.

Next time you are at the grocery store take a close look at the fresh ginger. Some of the roots will look a bit different than the others. The ones that are darker and more dried out are actually older than the other ones, though these are all considered “old ginger.” The ones that look drier are not necessarily “bad” as some might think. They are actually good to use in certain recipes because of their stronger more potent flavor and concentration of juice. For instance in this Ginger Milk Custard Recipe it is very important to use older, more dried ginger because it contains more starch which will cause a reaction with the milk to form the custard.

This ginger will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks, but can also be frozen and then grated directly into a recipe as needed.


Young Ginger
Young ginger or baby ginger is another fresh ginger root that is mainly found in Chinese grocery stores at certain times of the year. It is harvested during fall in Asia, but can be found in the US in the spring. This ginger is more mild, but sweeter in flavor and has a thinner skin than the old ginger. It also has pink buds on its ends and is sometimes called “pink” ginger as well. It is most commonly know for it’s use in pickled ginger, but is delicious in salads, stir fries, and cocktails as well. It is not as pungent and spicy as the “old” ginger found in most local grocery stores.

This ginger can be stored in the refrigerator and should be used within 7 to 10 days.


Ground Ginger
Ground ginger or powdered ginger has a completely different flavor from fresh ginger and is not really interchangeable. Although you can sometimes substitute about an eighth of a teaspoon of ground ginger for an inch piece of fresh ginger, the resulting flavor will be a bit different. Ground ginger can usually be found in most local grocery stores in the spice section.

Ground ginger is mainly found in baked goods, however it is actually very good in some recipes and is sometimes a part of the five spice powder that is used often in Chinese cooking. I tend to use ground ginger in recipes that are on the sweeter side such as in sweet and sour recipes and orange chicken.

The one great thing about ground ginger is that it can be stored for a long time at room temperature.


These are the three main types of ginger used in Chinese cooking. There is also a Thai ginger that is used in Thai food and then there are other roots that are sometimes considered ginger since they are in the same family. These are turmeric, which is sometimes called yellow ginger and galangal, which is also considered to be a ginger plant.

Then there are forms of ginger that are derived from the fresh ginger listed above. These are dried ginger, which is often used in Chinese medicine, preserved ginger, candied ginger, and pickled ginger. These can usually be found already made in most Asian grocery stores.