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A flavorful stock is a crucial ingredient in all kinds of recipes. Made from hours-long simmering of bones, vegetables, and aromatics such as garlic, onion, and herbs, a rich stock is what Anthony Bourdain said in his cookbook, “Kitchen Confidential,” is “the backbone of good cooking.” The great thing about stock is that it can be made from scraps that might otherwise end up discarded — ends and peels from onions, carrots, and celery, bones from a store-bought roast chicken, and herbs that have started to wilt, for instance. It can also be tailored to different recipes and cuisines by adding specific ingredients that will create a bespoke flavor. A cool trick we recently discovered is to steep grated ginger, garlic, and scallions overnight in your already made stock and then strain out the solids to add a big punch of flavor.
This easy hack gives stock a huge flavor boost and serves as the perfect recipe base, especially for Asian noodle dishes and soups. It is also a delicious and nourishing remedy for a cold or cough, served hot in a mug with a little squeeze of lime or lemon. Think chicken soup, but as a soothing, brothy sip. By the way, if you’re not sure of the difference between broth and stock, just remember that broth is made with meat and vegetables aside from bones, and needs only a short simmer as opposed to stock, which requires hours to reach its flavor and velvety texture once the bones release their collagen.
Ginger, garlic, and scallion create a flavorful, versatile stock
To get the best flavor, grate or finely mince the garlic and ginger, and chop the scallions into small sticks. Place in a large bowl and cover with the stock. The amount of aromatics you use depends on the quantity of stock and how strong you want the flavor to be, so you can adjust to your taste. A slightly warm liquid will extract more flavor right away, but room temperature stock will work fine. Then cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight, and strain out the solids the next day. This is a great tip to enhance the flavor of store-bought stocks and broths, too. You can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days, but it’s best if you use it as fresh as possible.
Use this spiced-up stock as a base for noodle dishes, soup, as a filling for dumplings, or any recipe in which you want the zesty flavor of ginger and garlic. Try it in this Thai Chicken Noodle Soup recipe instead of plain broth, for instance. You can add extra flavor by cooking the noodles in the flavorful stock for a satisfying Garlic Chicken Lo Mein, or use it to cook the rice when making these easy Thai Ginger Pork Bowls. Once you master using this infusion, you can customize it with other spices such as whole white peppercorns, slices of fresh chiles, or star anise for further flavor combinations. And if you don’t have stock on hand, no worries — you can do the same to infuse plain water to add a little extra kick to your recipes.
