[Sca-cooks] Galangal

[Glenn Crawford]

Thanks, That is helpful to know.
I will have to check out the new thai restaurant in town.
What would you recommend to eat for a first timer to thai food?

Thanks,
Glenn

>While it is true that galangal (galanga alpina, zingerberacea) is a
>rhizome that is closely related to ginger, it tastes NOTHING like
>ginger. Ginger is MUCH hotter. In fact, both fresh galangal and dried
>galangal are rather mild, with a slightly resinous flavor. That is to
>say, galangal has a strong enough and distinctive flavor, but it is
>quite different from ginger, which i think is NOT a suitable
>substitute.

>And there's NOTHING else that tastes like galangal. I lived in
>Indonesia where fresh galangal is common and a common seasoning in
>Javanese food. The Indonesian name for galangal is laos.

>Fresh galangal root is available in Thai markets - the Thai name for
>it is kha - and possibly some other Southeast Asian and Asian >markets.

>The closest substitutes i can think of are the Indonesian
>zingiber-related rhozomes kentjur and temu kuntji, both of which are
>much much harder to get, and are stronger tasting than galangal.

>Unless your recipe calls for LOTS of galangal, you can leave it out
>and make no substitutes.

>But it is useful to have in your spice cabinet, so i recommend
>ordering some. Keep it VERY TIGHTLY sealed, as the delicate flavor of
>dried powdered galangal will eventually vaporize, leaving a rather
>tasteless beige powder. And dried root chunks will probably kill your
>spice grinder. However, if you can find dried slices, these can be
>somewhat reconstituted, then ground. Don't throw out the water you
>reconstitute them in, but add that to the liquid in your recipe.

>If you're even in a Thai restaurant order the Tom Kha Gai soup. It is
>a chicken soup with kha / galangal slices. You're in luck if they
>leave the kha slices in the soup. Don't eat them, but suck on them to
>see what galangal tastes like by itself.

>Anahita
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