What is the difference between ginger and galangal?

They are related rhizomes, but ginger is warm, bright, and citrusy, while galangal is sharper, more piney and peppery. Galangal is also a firmer, woodier root.

Can I substitute ginger for galangal?

In a pinch, but the dish will taste milder and sweeter and lose galangal's sharp, piney edge. There is no perfect swap; use ginger if galangal is unavailable and accept a softer result.

Are they used in the same dishes?

Not usually. Ginger turns up everywhere from baking to stir fries. Galangal is central to Southeast Asian cooking, especially Thai curry pastes and soups.

Ginger vs galangal

Galangal and ginger are cousins that look almost identical as knobby roots, and recipes sometimes blur the two, but they taste clearly different.

No. 20

Ginger

Pungent, warm, bright, citrusy

strong

pungent warm citrusy

Ginger is the knobby underground rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a tropical plant in the same family as turmeric and cardamom, used both fresh and dried. Fresh ginger is hot, bright, and almost citrusy; dried ground ginger is warmer, sweeter, and more concentrated, and the two are not interchangeable. It is one of the most widely used aromatics in the world, central to Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Caribbean cooking and a staple of baking from gingerbread to cookies. It pairs with garlic and chile in savory dishes and with warm spices in sweet ones. Fresh root keeps for weeks; ground ginger lives in the baking cupboard.

No. 40

Galangal

Sharp, piney, citrusy, peppery

strong

pungent citrusy

Galangal is the rhizome of Alpinia galanga, a relative of ginger native to Southeast Asia, with a sharper, more piney and citrusy flavor and a peppery bite. Though it looks like a paler, harder ginger, the two taste clearly different and do not swap well. Galangal is essential to Thai and wider Southeast Asian cooking, pounded into curry pastes and simmered in coconut soups like tom kha. The flesh is dense and woody, so it is usually sliced thin or crushed rather than grated. Fresh is far better than the dried powder.

Which to use when

Use ginger for warm, bright, citrusy pungency in most cooking and baking, from stir fries to gingerbread. Use galangal when a dish needs its sharper, piney, almost medicinal citrus bite, in Thai curries, tom yum, and tom kha. Ginger is softer and sweeter; galangal is sharper and more resinous. One is not a clean stand in for the other.

Common questions

What is the difference between ginger and galangal?: They are related rhizomes, but ginger is warm, bright, and citrusy, while galangal is sharper, more piney and peppery. Galangal is also a firmer, woodier root.
Can I substitute ginger for galangal?: In a pinch, but the dish will taste milder and sweeter and lose galangal's sharp, piney edge. There is no perfect swap; use ginger if galangal is unavailable and accept a softer result.
Are they used in the same dishes?: Not usually. Ginger turns up everywhere from baking to stir fries. Galangal is central to Southeast Asian cooking, especially Thai curry pastes and soups.