Tang Yuan in Fingerroot-Soy Milk Soup (Garden to Table Part 2 of 3)

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I'll have to be honest with you, I'm not a fan of ginger.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate ginger. But often, I find myself shying away from dishes which contain ginger.

I think my avoidance of ginger is not necessarily a bad thing. Ever since my siblings and I were young, my mother has always set aside time to whip up food for us. She makes it a point for us to eat nutritious home cooked food often and we are grateful for that. In the process, she reduces the amount of salt and sugar in her cooking. As such, I've come to realise my palate became one that is relatively bland compared to my peers. I've not found it necessary to have ginger with my Xiao Long Baos (Chinese dumplings) or in my chicken rice. Altogether, ginger tasted a little too strong for my liking.

However, an unexpected harvest from our Good Garden opened my eyes to a new liking for ginger. Our team was initially puzzled at the identity of this rhizome. After some research, we realised that the turmeric-looking rhizome was actually a type of ginger called Fingerroot!

The ginger was particularly intriguing. It has an orange hue and tubular form; shaped just like fingers as its name suggests. So I did more research. Fingerroot is actually native to China and Southeast Asia, a medicinal herb used for the following purposes.

1. Anti-bacterial: as an ingredient for tonics to cure colds, sore throats, coughs
2. Anti-indigestion: treats constipation and bloating
3. Anti-inflammatory: useful for rheumatoid ailments
4. Anti-cancer: prevents prostate and breast cancer
5. A good source of vitamin C, iron and essential oils!

Being so nutritious, I told myself it was time for some experimenting with this rich herb. Back in school when I used to go camping often, one activity I really enjoyed was using a mass tin to boil Tang Yuan (rice balls) in soy milk. My friends and I would enjoy them as supper, while chatting and star gazing under the night sky. With that in mind, I started grating the Fingerroot using it in this simple recipe.

Recipe #1: Tang Yuan in Fingerroot-Soy Milk Soup

Ingredients

1. 3 pieces of Fingerroot
2. ¼ carton of Soy Milk - any Soy Milk will do, store-bought or freshly made from hawker stalls
3. 10 Tang Yuan (rice balls)

Method

1. Grate the Fingerroot into tiny pieces.
2. Boil a pot of soy milk. Once the pot starts to heat up, stir in the Fingerroot pieces to allow it to boil together with the soy milk.
3. Once the soy milk ‘broth' starts bubbling, throw in 5 Tang Yuan balls to cook for 5 minutes. Cook the next 5 when the first batch is ready to be removed.
4. As the Tang Yuan balls are cooking, maximise the Fingerroot taste on them. For each ball, scoop a tablespoon full of soy milk and grated Fingerroot from the ‘broth', slowly pour it over the rice ball, ensuring the Fingerroot pieces stick on as a coating (check out photo above).
5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Review
Usually when people eat Tang Yuan, they like to have them with ginger soup. I don't fancy that as the ginger numbs my tongue. However, the ginger-flavour from the Fingerroot was slightly milder as compared to the regular yellow ginger we see in the market. It added a tinge of zest against the sweet sesame fillings of the Tang Yuan – exactly to my liking! Moreover, compared to yellow ginger, the taste of Fingerroot does not linger in your tongue for too long! You don't have to drink tea or coffee to wash it down. The next round, I won't be shy to add more Fingerroot as I know it will not overpower this dessert; the highlight of my camping memories.

One important tip: before cooking, do soak or wash your Fingerroot thoroughly to get rid of the soil.

That's all for my field notes on cooking with Fingerroot! Watch this space for our next Fingerroot experiment in fermentation!