When Ginger Caramelizes, Something Wonderful Happens

In the process of slowly cooking ginger, the harsh flavor mellows, leaving a sugary spicy strip. The more moistly it caramelizes, the softer it becomes; if it dries out it can become as tough as leather. We slowly caramelize it in low temperature olive oil letting it cook on low as slowly as our patience will allow.

For the above dish, we started it with thinly sliced garlic in slow cooking olive oil, then added sesame oil, a teaspoon of very dark balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of soy sauce and about 1/4 cup of water. This created a bubbly gooey ginger sauce. I added string beans and broccoli and covered it, then tossed the whole thing with buckwheat soba noodles. This was a major treat; of course, all I got was one bean and one piece of broccoli. The kids were pretty much licking their bowls...