galangal, and Alpinia officinarum or lesser
galangal. The former, sometimes also called
Thai ginger, is the more prized and common.
Galangal is more austere than ginger, pungent
and with overtones of eucalyptus, pine, clove,
and camphor, but none of ginger’s lemony
character. In Thai and other Southeast Asian
cuisines it’s often combined with lemongrass
and many other aromatics. Galangal is also an
ingredient in Chartreuse, bitters, and some
soft drinks.
Ginger Ginger is the pungent, aromatic
rhizome of a herbaceous tropical plant,
Zingiber officinale, that is distantly related to
the banana. It lends its name to a family of
about 45 genera that are found throughout the
tropics, and that include galangal, grains of
paradise, cardamom, and turmeric. The name
comes via Latin from the Sanskrit singabera,
meaning horns or antlers, which the branched
rhizomes resemble.