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No galangal available - substitute ginger?
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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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Joined: 25 January 2010
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    Posted: 09 May 2012 at 11:02
i know that galangal and ginger are related, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are interchangable.
 
i'd like to make some  ketjap manis, which requires ground laos (galangal); assuming that there isn't any available within 200 miles of my home, would anyone care to suggest an "acceptable" substitute, or would ground ginger do the job?
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Daikon View Drop Down
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Points: 381 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Daikon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2012 at 11:29
If you can't find galangal, then you probably can't find Chinese ginger/fingerroot either, which I consider to be a better substitute than common ginger.  So, fresh ginger is your best substitute, and you'll need to use more of it (as much as 1.5X) since it isn't as pungent as galangal.
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Points: 9389 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2012 at 11:46
that i can definitely do - we have no chinese ginger, but we do have common ginger. you suggested fresh ginger; i assume it would be peeled and then the required (adjusted) amount minced, similar to mincing garlic cloves?
 
thanks!
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Points: 4945 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2012 at 12:17
There seems to be a difference of opinion about galangal/ginger.
 
For example, Linda Stephen (Complete Book of Thai Food) says to substitute fresh ginger. But Judy Lew (Thai Cuisine Lemon Grass Cookbook) says that while galangal is similar in appearance to ginger root, it has a different flavor.
 
"Similar" is one of those loose words, though. Other than being knobby rizomes, I don't think the two look anything alike. Plus galangal is very woody, compared to regular ginger, and has a lemony undertaste IMO.
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Points: 381 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Daikon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 May 2012 at 12:31
Sure, ginger tastes different from galangal, but it is the closest-tasting, readily-available ingredient -- which is the point of a substitute, not exactly duplicating the flavor.

Use the ginger however the recipe calls for galangal to be used, Ron.
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Points: 449 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Percebes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 March 2016 at 18:47

Ron
I will happily bring some dried galangal root down on my next foray into your neck of the woods.

I buy fresh Galangal here, but not sure about the border crossing. Never had an issue with dried spices.

The flavor is so unique and IMO totally unlike ginger.

I use fresh for grilling fish sandwiched between two slabs of Pineapple bark secured by twine
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Points: 9389 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 March 2016 at 18:59
I'm grateful for your offer, Murray - 

Southeast Asian cuisine is not something that I get to cook often, but when I do, I sure enjoy it.
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Points: 9389 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 April 2018 at 15:24
What a difference a few years (and the rise of Amazon) makes:

Fresh:

http://a.co/9HXdHu4

Dried:

http://a.co/9Q9r8Wk

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