Galangal ginger (Alpinia officinale)

[metalfan]

I was at the Oriental Market today trying to get some Tiger Lily buds for a dish I want to cook and found these HUGE Galangal ginger rhizomes for about $1.40 each!! I have never tried to grow Galangal specifically, mainly because I have never had fresh rhizomes, only dried ones that I use to make Tom Kha Gai soup.

I have planted Zingiber officinale (the usual cooking ginger) and it grows for me in the yard as a perennial just like all my other gingers.

I am assuming that Galangal will too, but can't seem to locate any info on its hardiness. I did find a drawing (not a real photo) of the flowers. It looks kind of like a shell ginger apparently.

ANyone have any good info to share??

[aussiearoids]

Gina , I grew lots of Galangal in the sub-tropics , so it should do well for you . Its not fussy , grows just as well in shade as it does in full sun. Thin out old flowered stems as you would with any ginger , and enjoy ,, you will appreciate the flavour of the real thing instead of dried muck .. Try and get some Turmeric as well , it will clump up well , and I can give you a fantastic recipe for Burmese Fish Curry .

[metalfan]

Thanks! I got a few small turmeric rhizomes from the Indian grocery last season and they grew a little brfore going dormant for the winter. I am waiting for them to pop back up. I am actually making a trip to the Indian grocery again tomorrow and hope to score some more fresh turmeric!!

[palmmermaid]

I will defintely be on the lookout for these! I love ginger tea and think this would be perfect.

Gina, is it labeled Gingalal ginger?

[realarch]

Gina, Michael, thanks for the info. Burmese fish curry...now that sounds delicious!

Tim

[metalfan]

Kitty, I had to ask for it. There aren't any "dedicated" Thai markets here like there were in Los Angeles, only "mixed Oriental" groceries that sell a combo of Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Korean things. I asked for fresh galangal and they had it!!!! (And cheap too!)

[BigFrond]

I have grown them. Actually there is a patch in my yard right now. I would say its hardiness is about a half under the shell ginger. The stems and leaves are smaller than the shell ginger. With good soil, it can grow to about 4 to 5 ft and flowers every year where the shell ginger is about 10 ft in my yard. The flower is not very impressive.

[aussiearoids]

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BURMESE FISH CURRY

This base paste takes a lot of work so its best to double or triple qtys.

And store some for later use , it keeps very well in the freezer or just covered in some oil.

1. 3 large onions , roughly chopped .

2. 1 complete bulb of garlic , peeled and crushed.

3. 1 handfull of Turmeric , peeled and grated .

4. 1 big bit of ginger , peeled and grated .

5. 1 cup of oil .

6. fresh chillis can be added [ I don’t ]

7. cook on low heat until all moisture is gone .

Ingredients can be put in food processor , but turmeric will stain it forever .

This last step takes forever , it must be stirred frequently.

It will be a very dark red brown colour ,

Finished when the oil separates .

Now for the Curry ..

1. Heat up 1 teaspoon of prawn paste.

2. Add 1 or 2 finely chopped stalks of lemon grass.

3. Add approx 1 cup of paste.

4. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar

5. Add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce

6. Add 1 cup diced tomato

7. simmer for ten minutes

8. add fish fillets skin up , and fry for 1 minute

9. turn and cover in paste

10. simmer another 10 minutes

11. add handful finely chopped parsely and coriander .

12. nice option is a dash of sesame oil .

13. mild fish is best , fillets are good , cutlets ok

[aussiearoids]

Gina , I know you are a vegetarian , and some I know, do not like to use prawn paste . I have made this without it and it still tasted pretty good . This is a very tast recipe and I have cooked it many times , one day I will try it with some chillis . My little turmeric patch is taking off ,, some flowers onit , but it will soon be dormant . Galangal clump I put in recently is just sprouting . Must get some lemon grass ..

[metalfan]

Michael,

I have found that leaving out the shrimp paste, the nam pla/nuoc cham (fish sauce) etc from my Thai dished and substituting tofu or tempeh for the meat works quite well! Thank you for the recipe, I will have to give it a try! I MUST add the chilis, we love HOT FOOD!

[realarch]

That's got to be delicious. And yes, chili's are a must. Thanks Michael.

Tim

[edleigh7]

I was growing this, but my young pup ripped it out!!

To my joy on the weekend, I have seen it pop up again, the pup must of left some in there.

I hear it will take 2 years of growing to be able to be picked for consumption, is this correct?

BTW the curry sounds great!!

[aussiearoids]

Depends on how big the rhizhome you planted was Ed ,, I grew it well in Childers and saw masses of it around Marybro' .. the best bit to use is the fresh new red tipped shoots .

[edleigh7]

Thanks Mick. It was an actual plant about a foot high