Galangal
Alpinia Galanga

days to maturity:
plant spacing: 1 plant per 5 feet
sunlight requirements: 6-10 hours
look out for: needs very compost rich soil
harvest notes: harvest roots as you need them, plant is truly perennial
perennial

Galangal may look just like ginger, and while they are in the same family and grow very similarly Galangal is a more rare and unique flavoring herb. Galangal is a much woodier rhizome that has a sharp citrusy, almost piney flavor. Galangal is only commonly used in Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian cooking, and instead of being grated like the softer ginger root, it must be sliced and then removed from the dish before eating. Its most popular use is in the Thai soup “tom kha gai”, which is a sour coconut milk and chicken soup flavored with Galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves. Galangal can also be used medicinally. Because it is bitter it can be used as a digestive aid and to stimulate the appetite. Its also used traditionally for hiccups, nausea, vomiting, chronic gastritis, and ulcers in the digestive tract. The herb also has analgesic (pain relieving) and antipyretic (fever reducing) properties and may also help reduce bacterial and fungal infections.

Plant and grow galangal as you would ginger or turmeric; in partly shaded well drained and rich soil. Galangal will get quite a bit taller than ginger, so make sure to space it properly, and unlike ginger & turmeric we typically leave a galangal patch in the ground for years and just use a sharp shovel to dig out what you need for cooking when you need it.