Eating to Live on the Outside: Willd Ginger
Okay, I’ve got the menu in front of me right now and at first glance, it’s so-so. Pretty typical of most Asian restaurants—a lot of sautéing, frying, dumplings, and noodles—but there’s also plenty of fruits and veggies too. It looks like we’ll be taking the good with the bad.
Let’s start with the appetizers. I don’t see anything that makes me overly excited. Odds are I’d skip the appetizer, but if I was feeling adventurous I’d go with the Spring Rolls. They’re pretty simple. Fried vegetarian spring rolls served with dipping sauce. Yeah, like I said, I probably wouldn’t order an appetizer.
As for the entrees, it gets a little dicey for me. I don’t eat chicken, duck, pork, or beef. So that eliminates a lot of the menu. I’m going to jump right to the salads. I like the Papaya Salad. I dig papaya salads. If you remember, I picked the papaya salad at Vegan Glory and Happy Buddha. Here’s why I think it’s a good fit for an Eat to Liver. Wild Ginger’s Papaya Salad is prepared with carrots, cucumber, alfalfa, green papaya, and lime dressing. Not wrong with that stuff! I like the Mango Salad and Wild Ginger Salad for similar reasons. Combined they’re made with carrots, cucumber, alfalfa, tomatoes, ginger dressing, mixed greens, and sprouts.
The salads are probably the best option, but Wild Ginger does serve up some other interesting vegetable-based entrees. I like these four: Sweet Basil Eggplant, Mixed Vegetables, Basil Tofu, and Asian Broccoli with Shitake Mushrooms. The names say it all. If you can deal with the sautéing, they’re pretty cool.
Now, I don’t eat meat, but I do eat fish. That’s why Wild Ginger’s seafood does intrigue me, but there is a little snag—for me at least—I don’t like shrimp, but maybe you do. So you might want to consider the Sweet & Sour Prawns Thai Style. Its prawns (shrimp), onion, pepper, carrot, tomato, and pineapple. Same goes for the Shrimp & Pineapple Coconut. Before you order either of these, you might want to check out OceansAlive. Shrimp is a complicated choice when it comes to contamination risk.
Even though I don’t eat shrimp, I do eat squid. Not often, but I do eat it. So I’d be tempted to order the Spicy Black Bean Calamari. It’s made with sautéed calamari, red bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, and a black bean sauce. Its okay and squid isn’t a huge pollution risk either.
Overall, I think Wild Ginger is decent. Clearly, it’s not perfect, but in a pinch I think an Eat to Liver could make it work. The salads are the best choice and my personal preference is the Papaya Salad. Now, as with most Asian restaurants, you’ve got to contend with the salt factor.
If I end up eating something a little too salty, I just make sure that I am extra vigilant about my food during the days that follow. So I’d like to think in the end, it averages out—know what I mean? Anyway, it’s your turn. Check out Wild Ginger’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. As always, you can make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat wisely. Peace.
