Galangal (In picture -the light red colorued rhizome)
Galangal is a tropical plant in the ginger family that is most often associated with South-East Asian countries.This aromatic rhizome ranges in colour from pale yellow to pale red.The edible part of galangal is the rhizome or fleshy root stem. It is quite fibrous especially when matured and needs to be finely chopped or grated. Has a distinctive pungent taste and with a bit more “peppery’ heat than ginger. Cannot be substituted with ginger as the taste & flavour is quite different. Combined with chilli, garlic, lemongrass, onions, turmeric to make the paste for curries. Added to flavour soups, such as tom yum and tom kha gai. Available in dried slices and powdered form, but fresh is far superior. You can now find galangal slices in bottles which is quite a good substitute to the fresh.
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