[Sca-cooks] galangale

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Where to find fresh galangal:
I find it at the Berkeley Bowl - but they have an exceptional produce 
section. It is also available in Thai markets (where it is called 
kha). Southeast Asian markets - such as Vietnamese markets - might 
have it - and those omnibus Asian markets may carry it fresh, along 
with fresh turmeric (much nicer than dried), and some other 
interesting Zingiberacea rhizomes, like kentjur/kencur and 
kuntji/kunci ("c" in Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malayu is pronounced 
like an American "ch" - the Dutch, who colonized Indonesia, wrote it 
with "tj")

Dried galangal "chips":
In places that don't have fresh galangal, one can often find dried 
galangal slices.

To use in Southeast Asian cooking, i'd suggest soaking them in warm 
water until they are soft-ish, then adding them plus the water to 
soups or "curries".

To use in Medieval recipes, well, the dry slices can be ground with 
difficulty in an electric grinder. I'd suggest breaking the slices up 
into smaller pieces before grinding. Left whole, they can be 
resistant and cause your grinder to overheat.

Substituting:
While i feel confident that the Europeans didn't have fresh galangal, 
i think fresh can be substituted for dried. Cut off the amount you'll 
need from the rhizome, peel the piece, cut into match sticks, then 
into match heads, and then smash with the flat side of your cleaver 
or kitchen knife. You'll need a lesser volume of fresh, compared to 
the dried.

Galangal powder:
It tends to loose its flavor, as any spice does, but i think galangal 
loses it more rapidly than many. As with all spices, it should be 
kept in a non-porous container, such as glass, with a *very* tightly 
fitted lid, and kept in a cool, dark place - as should all spices and 
dried herbs.

Dried herbs and spices should never be kept long-term near the stove. 
In fact, they should never be kept out at all in glass jars, as light 
will often cause them to loose color and heat from the stove or the 
sun (or your heater or stove) will volatilize the flavorful oils, 
causing them to lose flavor.

I have two lazy susans i keep side by side in a cupboard, one has all 
the spices on it, the second herbs and flavorings, small containers 
on top, larger containers below, in alphabetical order.

Urtatim, formerly Anahita
(yeah, i'm gonna register Urtatim, so i need to get used to using it)