How To Peel, Grate And Chop Ginger - Once Upon A Chef

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As you can tell from many of my recipes, I love cooking with fresh ginger. It’s a versatile ingredient that works just as well in savory dishes, from Thai-style butternut squash soup to butter chicken, as it does in those on the sweet end of the spectrum, like my Stone Fruit Salad with Ginger Lime Syrup. It’s also a key ingredient in Asian cooking, adding a slightly sweet yet peppery flavor to stir-fries, sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.

If you’ve been reluctant to cook with fresh ginger because it’s hard to imagine how to get it from that knobby-looking root to a version that can enhance the flavor of your meals, read on for simple guidance on how to peel and grate ginger.

How to peel and Grate ginger

Put the ginger on your cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut it into manageable pieces and cut off any small knobs.

Find a flat spot on the trimmed ginger so you can place it securely on the cutting board.

Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove the papery skin. While the skin is dry and rough, it’s thin, so once you start peeling, you’ll quickly reveal the flesh.

After you’ve peeled the ginger, grate it with a handheld grater or on the small holes on a cheese grater. (Ginger is very fibrous. The fibers run from the top to the bottom of the root. Hold the piece of ginger you are grating so that you grate across the grain of the fibers.)

Some recipes require chopped ginger instead of grated. To chop it, you’ll need to peel the ginger like you do in preparation for grating it.

How to Chop ginger

Find a flat spot on the trimmed ginger and place it securely on the cutting board. (If necessary, cut off a thin slice off lengthwise and then lay the ginger on that side for a more stable surface.) Slice the ginger into 1/8-inch-thick slabs.

Stack a few of the slabs and cut them lengthwise into 1/8-inch-wide strips. They should resemble matchsticks. Repeat this with the remaining slabs.

Line the small strips up in a horizontal row and cut crosswise to dice.

If your recipe calls for minced ginger, gather all of the chopped ginger into a pile and cut through it using a rocking motion with your knife.

Recipes that call for Fresh ginger

• Shrimp Pad Thai
• Tandoori Chicken Drumsticks with Mango Chutney
• Asparagus Salad with Almonds & Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette
• Thai Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles

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Comments

• Hi there, if you are going to grate your ginger it is super easy if you freeze your knobs of ginger first. Ginger stores really well chopped up into 1″ pieces put into ziplock bags, and then super easy to grate while frozen.

  • — Rose on August 21, 2024
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  • Agreed – I just grate the frozen ginger with the ski on and throw it all in – never had an issue and soooooo much easier!

    • — Kathy S on October 10, 2025
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• Hi Jennifer Finally, I know how to deal with fresh ginger! Is there a way to print this article?

  Thanks, Tannis

  • — Tannis Stewart
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  • Hi Tannis, Glad you found it helpful! Unfortunately, there’s not an easy way to print this without getting a lot of extraneous content in there too. Sorry!

    • — Jenn
    • Reply

  • Tannis, If you have word processing software, e.g. Microsoft Word, you can first “Select All” text then Copy and Paste it into a blank word processing document. You will then be able to edit/delete the extraneous info/pictures before saving to you files. Good Luck.

    • — Tina Clements
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• Is it possible to use dried ground ginger instead of fresh ginger in a pinch? Thank you!

  • — Mary Spear
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  • Hi Mary, when fresh ginger is called for in a recipe, I always recommend using that. That said, it is doable to use ground ginger instead although the amount will be different (1 tbsp of fresh ginger = 1/4 tsp of ground ginger).

    • — Jenn
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• I was SURE that in one of your other recipes you said peeling wasn’t necessary because the peel is so thin, so I have been chopping and mincing it without peeling. This has been so helpful, as I use ginger on at least a weekly basis! Did I dream that you said this? (Aren’t you proud that you’re in my dreams?) 😉

  • — Tess
  • Reply

  • Hi Tess, I do think you must’ve dreamt it. 😉 I always recommend peeling ginger.

    • — Jenn
    • Reply

    • Making ginger tea is necessary to remove the peeling or you can just cut it 1/4 inch and boil it in some hot water. And then pour it in cup with your tea bag and honey. Thank You

      • — Horace Anderson on June 26, 2024
      • Reply

  • I have seen other chefs on TV say that about the thin skin and not removing it. If it’s shredded it won’t make any difference.

    • — Jean Ellen
    • Reply

  • I love fresh ginger. To avoid the peeling hassle, purchase very fresh ginger with a thin skin. Wash well, break into smaller pieces and freeze in a zipper plastic bag. The frozen pieces grate up nicely.

    • — Grammma on June 9, 2025
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