Galangal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Galangal, Malay lengkuas, Mandarin (Traditional)/(Simplified), Cantonese lam keong (藍薑), also known as blue ginger), is a rhizome with culinary and medicinal uses, best known in the west today for its appearance in Southeast Asia cuisine but also common in recipes from medieval Europe. It resembles ginger in appearance. However, it tastes little like ginger; in its raw form, it has a soapy, earthy aroma and a pine-like flavor with a faint hint of citrus. It is available as a powder from vendors of Oriental spices and also available in whole, cut or powdered from vendors of herbs. Also known as galingale, galanggal, or laos (its Indonesian name). A mixture of galangal and lime juice is used as a tonic in parts of Southeast Asia. Medicinally, it has the effect of an aphrodisiac, and acts as a stimulant.
The word galangal, or its variant galanga is used as a common name for all members of the genus Alpinia, but in common usage can refer to four plants, all in the Zingiberaceae:
- 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
A. galanga is also known as Chewing John, Little John Chew and galanga root. Under these names, it is used in folk medicine and in voodoo charms (see John the Conqueror for related lore).
Galangal oil is also used regularly in various forms of oils for anointing. Many mystic sects use a combination of essential cinnamon, myrrh, and galangal in a olive oil base. This oil mixture, when applied to the human sense organs, causes both a fiery sensation of the dermis as well as a general calmly elated mind state, which intensifies continuously relative to duration of contact[citation needed].
