Galangal

[marcia2]

I was in Whole Foods today and they had galangal root, so I bought some because I never see it. Now the question is what to do with it.

I found a couple of recipes on Epicurious and I'm sure if I go through my files I'll have some that call for it and suggest ginger as a substitute. But I'd love even more ideas.

Does anyone have any dishes they particularly like that call for galangal? My husband doesn't eat beef or pork, so mostly I'm looking for chicken dishes.

Also, how can I store it long term? Can I cut it into chunks and freeze it?

[Clarkafella]

We made the recipe for Tom Ka Gai from Recipezaar and it was really good:

http://www.recipezaar.com/303281

[scorpioscuba]

Definitely make Tom Ka Gai. Here is a recipe I've used that is great:

http://homecookkirsten.blogspot.com/2...

[scoooter5]

If you can get a copy of Cradle of Flavor from the library (or if you own it already), I believe there are quite a few recipes in it that have galangal as an ingredient. I found some in a local Asian market and froze what I didn't immediately use, too.

[MarkC]

You're lucky. Where I live, galingale doesn't exist. I'd love to get my hands on some!

Galingale is an essential ingredient in Thai cooking, where it effectively replaces ginger, which has a stronger flavor. Here's a paraphrased recipe for thai curry paste from "Hot and Spicy Floyd", a wonderful book you should try and get your hands on (remember Floyd, an English cooking show personality, who was always half-pickled from all the wine he slurped during his shows?)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon coriander seeds or 1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 whole nutmeg or 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
12 black peppercorns or 1 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
About 1 1/2 inch slice of fresh galingale, finely chopped
1 blade lemon grass, finely chopped
10 whole green thai chile peppers, stemmed and finely chopped, or for red curry paste, 12 medium dried red chile peppers, seeded and chopped
grated zest of one lime
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
2 tablespoons coriander root, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Grind spices in mortar and pestle. Put ground spices with other ingredients into a processor or blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed.

You can use this paste in a chicken curry, adding it along with coconut milk, chile peppers, coriander and thai basil leaves, lemon grass, and fish sauce.

[The Old Gal]

Floyd is alive and well and you can find him on the BBC website occasionally.

[todao]

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?foodido=12192,12480,14009,16476,16509&title=galangal

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/online_recipes/indonesia/galangal-fried-chicken.php

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...