Galangal () is a

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

of plants in the ginger family

Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical ...

, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater galangal (''Alpinia galanga'') is most commonly used, and is similar to ginger and turmeric. It is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Lesser galangal (''Alpinia officinarum'') and other types are also used, though less frequently. In traditional medicine, galangal is used to treat various ailments. It is a common ingredient in Thai, Indonesian, and Malaysian cuisine, and is also used in some traditional Chinese medicine.

Differentiation

The word ''galangal'', or its variant ''galanga'' or archaically ''galingale'', can refer in common usage to the aromatic

of any of four plant species in the

(ginger) family, namely: * '' Alpinia galanga'', also called ''greater galangal'', ''lengkuas'', ''Siamese ginger'' or ''laos'' * '' Alpinia officinarum'', or ''lesser galangal'' * '' Boesenbergia rotunda'', also called ''Chinese ginger'' or ''fingerroot'' * ''

Kaempferia galanga ''Kaempferia galanga'', commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal. It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern C ...

'', also called ''kencur'', ''black galangal'' or ''sand ginger'' The term ''galingale'' is sometimes also used for the rhizome of the unrelated ''sweet cyperus'' ('' Cyperus longus''), traditionally used as a folk medicine in Europe.

Uses

Culinary

Various galangal rhizomes are used in traditional Southeast Asian cuisine, such as Khmer kroeung (Cambodian paste), Thai and Lao tom yum and tom kha gai soups, Vietnamese

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

cuisine (tré) and throughout

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions by various ethnic groups that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed ...

, as in soto and opor. Polish Żołądkowa Gorzka vodka is flavoured with galangal. While all species of galangal are closely related to common

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, each is unique in its own right. Due to their unique taste and 'hotness' profiles, the individual varieties are usually distinguished from ginger, and from each other, in traditional Asian dishes. The taste of galangal has been variously described as "flowery", "like ginger with cardamom" and "like peppery cinnamon". Lesser galangal was popular in European medieval cooking. Galangals are commonly available in Asian markets in a variety of forms: as whole fresh rhizomes; dried and sliced; and powdered.

Medical

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of natural and social sciences that studies the relationships between humans and plants. It focuses on traditional knowledge of how plants are used, managed, and perceived in human socie ...

, galangal has been used for its purported merits in promoting digestion and alleviating respiratory diseases and stomach problems. Specific medical virtues have been attributed to each galangal variety.

References

Medicinal plants Zingiberaceae Spices Thai cuisine Lao cuisine Vietnamese cuisine Indonesian cuisine Plant common names {{Plant-stub