What I usually do is I start with a hot pan, pour in the oil, then slide in the slices of ginger first. Wait until it’s a bit wrinkled and shriveled, then toss in the scallion whites and garlic. I find that if I give it a minute or so for the garlic to brown a bit and toss in the protein, the heat of the average burner will not burn the garlic before the protein needs to be taken out. When cooking the vegetables, I use another batch of aromatics and again, with the moisture from the vegetables, the aromatics don’t burn before they need to be plated. If using szechuan peppercorns, star anise, or other such aromatics, you might consider flavoring the oil, then fishing them out before you even put in the ginger. It’s almost all timing and putting your aromatics in at different stages. The green scallion parts, for example, are almost universally put in near the end of cooking while the fleshier white bits go in at the beginning.

Margaret Restivo’s link doesn’t work.

Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Fisher of Tiger and strawberries
and Laurie Colwin