Galangal

The Galangal plant or Blue Ginger is a rhizome with culinary and medicinal uses (Thai: Ka (ข่า), Malay: lengkuas (Alpinia galangal), Traditional Mandarin: 南薑, Simplified Mandarin: 南姜, T:高良薑/S:高良姜, Cantonese: lam keong, 藍薑, Vietnamese: Riềng). It used in various oriental cuisines (for example in Thai cuisine Tom Yum soups and Dtom Kha Gai, and throughout Indonesian cuisine, for example, in Nasi Goreng). Though it resembles the ginger that it is related to, there is little similarity in taste.

In its raw form, galangal has a citrus, earthy aroma, with hints of pine and soap in the flavor. It is available as a whole root, or cut or powdered. The whole fresh root is very hard, and requires both a sharp knife and care to slice. A mixture of galangal and lime juice is used as a tonic in parts of Southeast Asia. It is said to have the effect of an aphrodisiac, and act as a stimulant. In the Indonesian language, greater galangal is called "laos" and lesser galangal is called "kencur". It is also known as "galanggal", and somewhat confusingly "galingale", which is also the name for several plants of the unrelated "Cyperus" genus of sedges (also with aromatic rhizomes).

The word galangal, or its variant "galanga" is used as a common name for all members of the genus "Alpinia", and in common usage can refer to four plants, all in the Zingiberaceae (ginger family):

*"Alpinia galanga" or greater galangal
*"Alpinia officinarum" or lesser galangal
*"Kaempferia galanga", also called "lesser galangal" or "sand ginger"
*"Boesenbergia pandurata", also called "Chinese ginger" or "fingerroot"

"Alpinia galanga" is also known as "Chewing John", "Little John Chew" and galanga root. It is used in African-American folk medicine and hoodoo folk magic. [ cite book
title= Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure, and Traditional Formulary
author=Catherine Yronwode
publisher=Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
date=2002
ISBN=0-9719612-0-4]

References

ee also

*Alpinia galanga
*Lesser galangal