Thai ginger
Thai ginger | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Thai ginger ( Alpinia galanga ) |
||||||||||||
Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Alpinia galanga | ||||||||||||
( L. ) Willd. |
Thai ginger ( Alpinia galanga , syn .: Maranta galanga , Galanga officinalis Salisb. ) Is a species of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). It serves as a spice and is an indispensable part of most spice pastes in Thai cuisine . The names are not very clear, so one sometimes speaks of Great Galangal or Galangawurzel , rarely also of " Alpinia ", in Indonesia of Langkuas or Laos, the Thai name is Kha ( ข่า ). It is one of four ginger-like plants known as galangal.
description
Alpinia galanga grows as a perennial herbaceous plant and reaches heights of about 2 meters. It forms bulbous rhizomes as persistence organs. Characteristic roots have yellowish-white leaf scars that are arranged in a ring around the rhizomes. The stalked leaves are 25 to 35 cm long and 6 to 10 cm wide.
Three to six flowers are formed per inflorescence . The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic . The sepals and petals are each fused to form tubes and are 6 to 10 cm long. They bloom from May to August and fruit from September to November.
The oval capsule fruit is brown or reddish when ripe, 1 to 1.5 cm long, about 7 mm in diameter and contains three to six seeds.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 48.
Occurrence
Thai ginger is originally found from southern China to Assam, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and the Philippines.
use
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Alpinia_galanga.jpg/220px-Alpinia_galanga.jpg)
Only the yellowish, woody rhizome with the rose-colored side shoots is used from Thai ginger , as well as young stems. The “tuber” is peeled and then chopped up: for use in spice pastes it is pureed (see: Kaeng Khiao Wan ), for use in soups it is cut into slices (see, for example: Tom yam ). The taste is only vaguely reminiscent of ginger. It is sharp, pine resin-like and has a soapy component. The taste is brought about by essential oil and resins (galganol, alpinol).
The consumption of Thai ginger is said to have a beneficial effect on digestion. Therefore, one drinks the juice from a mixture of the grated root and lemon juice against stomach pain . Wraps with galangal powder can help against rashes. Galangal is also part of the herbal medicine Sweden bitter .
literature
- Anne Iburg (ed.): Dumonts little spice dictionary . 1st edition. Edition Dörfler in Nebel Verlag, Egolsheim 2004, ISBN 978-3-89555-202-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Anne Iburg (ed.): Dumonts Kleines Gewürzlexikon , p. 34.
- ↑ Alpinia galanga at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Alpinia galanga. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- ^ Anne Iburg (Ed.): Dumonts Kleines Gewürzlexikon , p. 35.
Web links
- Galangal info page (Gernot Katzer)
- Galangal . In: Erowid . (English)
- The Plant List Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd., Synonyms