BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Thai Food What Thai ingredients do you have problems finding

:easter: If you have problems finding a Thai ingredient in your area I can help with a substitution ingredient. Happy Thai Cooking and Eating!

Mary, is thai chilli the exactly same as green chillies?

galangal .. sometimes

Galangal (kra chai in Thai)is often available in Asian markets and has been flown in from Hawaii. It will be found in the produce section, or frozen in the freezer section.

Galangal is a fragrant tuber, a relative of ginger. In its raw form, galangal has a citrusy, piney, earthy aroma, with hints of cedar and soap (saponins) in the flavor; its flavor is a complement to its relative ginger.

Galangal is sold fresh, frozen, dried, or powdered, but use the dried or powdered versions only in a pinch. Substitutes: ginger (not as pungent as galangal).

Galangal is also available online from several suppliers but is far more costly than from local Asian markets, but worth the cost if you can't find it in your area. Young galangal is nice and white, with pinkish tips and plenty of oil for aroma and flavor.

Errrm Mary? Galangal certainly is not grachai (or krachai/kra chai) in Thai. Kha (Ka or Kaa) is the Thai word for Galangal - as in Tom Kha Gai soup (literally "boiled galangal chicken" soup. Grachai/Kra Chai is key ginger, sometimes known as lesser ginger or chinese key. It is a vital ingredient in the Thai dish of Khannom jeen nahm yaa but is not a viable alternative to galangal. Also ginger is not really a good substitute for galangal as they have different flavours, you can't make Tom Kha with ginger for example. I'd recommend using dried galangal, not powdered, over ginger if fresh galangal is not available. Galangal is peppery'er' than ginger with less of a raw heat in its uncooked form. Kap!