While I always recommend following the ingredients the recipe calls for as closely as possible, sometimes, it's just not. Here's a quick rule of thumb when you need to substitute what you've got, for what the recipe calls for: the 3:1 ratio.
3 parts fresh : 1 part dried
Dried herbs and spices have much stronger, more concentrated flavors than fresh; you'll need a lot less dried herbs in a recipe that calls for fresh herbs- a lot more fresh herbs in a recipe that calls for dried herbs.
for example:
- your recipe calls for 3 tsp of fresh ginger, but all you have is dried
--> 3 tsp fresh ginger : 1 tsp dried ginger
- your recipe calls for 1 T of dried basil leaves; but you bought fresh basil today
--> 3 T fresh basil (chopped finely) : 1 T dried basil leaves
Happy Cooking!
