Guest guest Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 I can't spell this now but it is for the Chiva-Som vegatable soup in today's posting. Help for this poor Yank!!! Luanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Hi Luanne, I first tried galangal from one of Susie's (artichoke) recipes. It was a really really wonderful soup (I'll repost the recipe if you like - Hot and Sour Soup). To me galangal looked like ginger but was way more powerful than any fresh ginger that I have experienced. Two small slices really made an impression on that wonderful soup. I posted a link to a picture below (from the web), however I have a knuckle of the stuff in my freezer if you need another photo. Shawn ---- Photo.... http://www.wokme.com/images/ingredients/galangal.jpg Description.... http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/galangal.html Spice Description The galangals are fascinating ginger-like spices used in South East Asia. Greater Galangal (laos): Used as a flavouring throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and parts of India. Orangey-brown skin with pale yellow or white interior. The rhizomes are longer than lesser galangal. Available as slices, 3mm (1/8 in) thick or powder. Bouquet: Gingery and camphorous Flavour: Pungent but less so than lesser galangal. Hotness Scale: 5 Lesser Galangal (kencur): Used as a flavouring in Indochina and Indonesia but not in Chinese cooking. The 8 x 2cm (3 x 3/4in) rhizome has a red-brown interior. The texture is fibrous. Available as slices or powder. Bouquet: Aromatic and gingery Flavour: Aromatic and pungent, peppery and gingerlike. Heat Scale: 6 Kaempferia Galangal: Used as a flavouring in South East Asia. Often identified as greater galangal. Red skin and white interior. Bouquet: Sweet and sickly with pungent undertones. Flavour: Like Bouquet but much stronger. Heat Scale: 5 Preparation and Storage Use like ginger, powdered, bruised or crushed. One slice of the root is equivalent to half a teaspoon of powder. Generally small quantities are specified in recipes, laos being used in larger amounts than kencur. The powders should be stored in airtight containers and used within a short space of time. Culinary Uses The use of greater galangal is confined to local Indonesian dishes such as curries. Although known in Europe since the Middle Ages, galangal is now used only in Far Eastern cookery from Indonesia, IndoChina, Malaya, Singapore and Thailand. Like ginger, galangal is a 'de-fisher' and so appears frequently in fish and shellfish recipes often with garlic, ginger, chilli and lemon or tamarind. Laos powder is more important than kencur and, as well as with fish, is used in a wide variety of dishes such as sauces, soups, satays and sambals, chicken, meat and vegetable curries. Although used in the often searingly hot Indonesian cookery, laos powder enhances dishes such as chicken delicately spiced with fennel and lemon grass and gently cooked in coconut milk. However, these mild dishes are usually accompanied by vegetable or fish sambals fiery with chili. 'A Cook they hadde with hem for the nones To boille the chiknes with the Marybones and poudre Marchant tart and galyngale' (Chaucer, 1386) Attributed Medicinal Properties Resembling ginger in its effects, galangal is an aromatic stimulant, carminative and stomachic. It is used against nausea, flatulence, dyspepsia, rheumatism, catarrh and enteritis. It also possesses tonic and antibacterial qualities and is used for these properties in veterinary and homeopathic medicine. In India it is used as a body deodorizer and halitosis remedy. Both galangals have been used in Europe and Asia as an aphrodisiac for centuries. Gerard (1597) says: 'they conduce to venery, and heate the too cold reines (loins)'. On 2/22/06, Luanne <> wrote: > I can't spell this now but it is for the Chiva-Som vegatable soup in > today's posting. Help for this poor Yank!!! > Luanne > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2006 Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Galangal. Similar to ginger. , " Luanne " <lahlbrand wrote: > > I can't spell this now but it is for the Chiva-Som vegatable soup in > today's posting. Help for this poor Yank!!! > Luanne > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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