Have you ever bought one of those knobby roots of raw ginger to use a bit for a recipe, but then despaired of ever being able to finish it?  The ugly root usually sits in the back of my produce drawer for a few weeks before I give up and toss it in the trash.

Just a couple weeks ago, I learned a recipe from a new friend here in Japan.  It’s a great way to use up fresh ginger, and stay healthy at the same time — Ginger Tea!

Here’s the recipe:

Start with a fresh ginger root.

Go ahead and grate it.  It doesn’t really matter in this case whether you peel the skin first or not.  For 1 cup of tea, you’ll probably want about 1 heaping teaspoon of grated ginger.

Using a cheesecloth, or old hankie that you don’t mind getting stained, wring out all the juice from the ginger — there should be quite a lot!  Discard the ginger, and keep the juice.

Add honey and lemon juice to taste (maybe about a spoonful of each).  Add hot water and stir.

The resulting tea looks pretty weak and mild — but it packs a punch!  YUM!

Enjoy!

–Jen