Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Galangal gonna knock you out.......

Galangal, What is Galangal, Is It The Same As Ginger. At first, galangal or 'Khaa' in Thai, appears similar to ginger with its sexy tuber shape and sensual aroma. However a closer look we will reveal the difference between galangal and ginger. Galangal has a tighter skin, is lighter in color and can have pinkish portions too and as my picture depicts I harvested mine a bit late and let it cure a bit too long hence my infusion project which we will get too after the details of this Thai beauty. All of us, I hope, know the taste and flavour of common  ginger, Galangal tastes more like pepper(black or white) than ginger. Coming to the similarities between galangal and ginger, both grow underground and are tubers that love a lush tropical enviroment. Fresh galangal is now available in the west and it's easy availability, makes people confuse it with ginger. There are two types of galangal, one of them has a stronger flavour as compared to the other. 


 GALANGAL,CILANTRO VODKA WITH THE HINT OFTHE DEVILS TOUNGE

I love to infuse my booze people and I'm proud to say the wakier the concoction the better the buzzzzz.
Here in the Bay we never got a spring it was hell bent rain and then last week it slapped us with the gross 95plus breath of satan. so when life gives you no ability to aclamate what do ya do? Drink baby drink.
This fusion has made me the popular girl at BBQs all over Santa Cruz and super easy fresh and gets the job done with out being girly.

750ml of good Hangar one potato vodka from right her in the Bay
big handful of fresh corriandar (cilantro)
ahhhh bout five oz of peeled sliced into shingles Galangal
up to you how much of Ghost chili Scoval meter off the hook but an explosion of smoky heat
jar it up in a sterilized flip top and refridge for  a week to macerate well.

add spritzer
muddle some persian cukes
splash of lychee syrup and you are off n runnin
or a grip of fresh meyer lemon juice
2T brown sugar
spritzer
cold cure a salmon wild never farmed
add a T or two to a slaw recipe
half lemon aide half infusion freeze for a fresh inter mezzo granite
add two fingers infusion
2 fingers of cava
lemon simple syrup
rim glass with sugar
I call this my SQUIRREL NECTAR

you get the point OK back to your lesson on the mighty Galangal


Types Of Galangal, Flavour And Aroma Of Galangal 

Galangal, here is an interesting nugget of information. The galangal that originated in Indonesia is also called, lengkuas and has a sharp flavour and pine like aroma. This is the galangal that is more commonly found in fresh or dried (powder) form in the west. The second type of galangal, has a pungent flavour and tastes like a combination of pepper and ginger. This galangal is believed to have it's origin in southern parts of China. This type of Galangal is popular in Thailand and locally called krachaai. The flavour of galangal would therefore depend on the type of galangal, the pine like aroma comes from the galangal that originated in Indonesia. Most Westerners would know this type of galangal.


Using Galangal In Your Cooking 


 Galangal is commonly used as a seasoning ingredient in Thai food, many seafood and meat dishes use galangal for seasoning. There are two ways in which galangal is added to food dishes, one is the crushed form and the other is thin strips. Before you start using galangal, you will always need to peel it and take off the top layer. If the recipe you are making needs the galangal to be crushed, slice it first and then do the crushing. This is because galangal is much more dense, fiberous and harder than ginger. You will find that many cooks prefer to cut galangal into thin strips, that are similar to matchstick length and dimensions. The fact that galangal is harder than ginger means that, it will need to be cooked for a longer time to become tender. The Thai's love to make spicey curry paste and even dipping sauces with galangal as an ingredient. But to steep into a tea or infuse vodka, vinegar for pickle or fragrance a soup go right ahead there are no rules.

If you are using dry galangal (whole pieces) from the grocery store, you will need to soak the dry galangal in hot water before using it and do not toss that steeping liquid that my friend is an oppertunity. Add to the liquid while cooking rice is a good start or add to your bath for a relaxing adventure. Galangal powder, sometimes sold as Laos Galangal powder, can be used instead of fresh galangal. Replace about half inch of peeled and chopped fresh galangal with 1 teaspoon of galangal powder. If you have the option to use fresh galangal and dried or powdered galangal, choose fresh galangal.


go away I'm busy drinking and NOT thinking about JAM or CHEESE.
 



.


No comments: