Galangal
guh-LANG-guhl
Alpinia galanga
Sharp, piney, citrusy, peppery.
What it is
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.
Similar but different
Easy to mix up, different enough that swapping changes the dish.
- Gingerpungent, warm, bright, citrusy.
What it pairs with
Goes wrong with: baking, where ginger belongs instead.
Common in Thai cooking.
Whole vs ground
Galangal is used fresh, sliced or pounded into pastes; its flesh is woodier and harder than ginger. Dried and powdered galangal is a weaker stand-in.
How to handle it
Slice thin or pound into curry paste. It is tougher and more fibrous than ginger, so thin coins are usually simmered and left in or removed, not eaten whole.
Storage
Keep fresh galangal in the fridge for a couple of weeks or freeze it. Dried powder keeps longer but is much weaker.
Buying note
Fresh galangal is paler, harder, and more banded than ginger. Frozen galangal beats dried for flavor.
Classic dishes
tom kha gai, Thai curry paste, laksa, rendang.
Out of galangal? Substitutes
No substitute is exact. These are the closest by flavor behavior, with the ratio to start from and how the result will differ.
| Use instead | Ratio | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Ginger | 1:1 | warmer and less piney, the closest easy swap but not a match |
One odd thing
Galangal looks like a tougher, paler ginger and is a close relative, but its sharp, piney flavor is not interchangeable with ginger's.