Description
Alpinia galanga is a plant in the ginger family, is an herb used in cooking, especially in Indonesian and Thai cuisines.
Thai Ginger grows to a height of about 5 feet, the leaves being long, rather narrow blades, and the flowers, of curious formation, growing in a simple, terminal spike, the petals white, with deep-red veining distinguishing the lip-petal. The ranched pieces of rhizome are from 3.5-7.
5 cm in length, and seldom more than 2 cm thick.Plant Specifications
| Common Name | Thai Ginger, siamese ginger, Greater Galangal |
| Maximum Reachable Height | 4 feet |
| Flower Colour | yellowish white |
| Bloom Time | Late Summer |
| Difficulty Level | easy to grow |
Planting and care
Dig a hole, then cover the rhizome with so soil. If you have excess galangal in the fridge, do not throw them away. You can grow them into exotic ginger plants with lovely foliage. If you like, you can harvest the rhizomes later for cooking.
Greater Galangal care
| Sunlight | Full Sun to Partial Shade |
| Watering | medium |
| Soil | well-drained soil |
| Fertilizer | Apply any organic fertilizer |
Greater Galangal special feature
Galangal is used as a tincture, a decoction or in powder form and as a medicine.
Greater Galangal uses
Ornamental Use:
- The plant is used for ornamental purpose
Medicinal Use:
- It is a bitter herb that is used to promote digestion and stimulate appetite and production of digestive fluids
Culinary Use:
- The rhizome is a common ingredient in Thai curries and soups, where it is used fresh in chunks or cut into thin slices, mashed and mixed into curry paste
- Indonesian rendang is usually spiced with galangal