Varieties

Greater galangal (Alpinia galanga), which grows in the tropics and is native to South Asia and Indonesia, is cultivated primarily in Malaysia, Laos, and Thailand. Grown for its fibrous, woody, aromatic pink shoots, it is similar in flavor to ginger but more peppery and pungent, with a lemony, almost medicinal taste. It is the best known and most widely available of the two species and is the rhizome called for in the recipes in this book, where I refer to it simply as galangal. It is a common ingredient in Thai soups, curry pastes, and curries and is used almost as much as ginger in much of the cooking of Southeast Asia.