Cimi Posted July 23, 2013 (edited) I was initially interested in this stuff for its delicious-sounding flavour. It has pale yellow finger-like tubers which are eaten raw and cooked, and often added to soups and curries for its aromatic, spicy flavour. Sounds easy enough to grow in the right climate, too. Info: http://greenharvest.com.au/Plants/Information/Krachai.htmlThen I saw this: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaempferia_galangaIt has many amazing properties including potential as a sunscreen, killing roundworms in dogs, and inhibition of the Epstein-Barr virus.It could be quite a good insect repellant, apparently. Then I saw that the sap also has hallucinogenic properties, due to an 'unknown' alkaloid. It is a CNS depressant.Does anyone have thoughts about what the likely mechanism of action / alkaloid could be in this plant? Edited July 24, 2013 by Cimi 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rum and Monkeys Posted July 24, 2013 I got some Galangal if you want some, grows massive tubers if you let it.. Use it for cooking, yum yum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nothinghead Posted July 24, 2013 This is a really interesting topic. I have no idea about answers, but this thread might be of interest: www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2166 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cactuscarl Posted July 24, 2013 Lol I just recently tried some galangal, I'm not sure how your supposed to take it but it's definitely not a tea. It was one of the most overwhelming and intense favours I've ever tasted. It's so intense it clogs all your other senses and all you can focus on is the flavour. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rum and Monkeys Posted July 25, 2013 Lol I just recently tried some galangal, I'm not sure how your supposed to take it but it's definitely not a tea. It was one of the most overwhelming and intense favours I've ever tasted. It's so intense it clogs all your other senses and all you can focus on is the flavour. Haha, I cannot say I have tried it in a tea, but would imagine it would not be very nice! Some nice recipes here- http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipeindex/RecipeByIngredientMain/201/1 Sorry to go off the topic, bring on the Krachai!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leaves Posted July 26, 2013 Galangal can be confusing. Alpinia galangal is the galangal sold in the asian supermarkets. It's hotter than ginger and considered superior over ginger in flavour. K.galangal is the very short plant (leaves don't really have stems) and has completely different properties. Don't go consuming heaps of A.galangal unless you want to roast you taste buds. It's the hottness found in Green Curry chicken. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cimi Posted July 28, 2013 (edited) I got some Galangal if you want some, grows massive tubers if you let it.. Use it for cooking, yum yum. Sweet thanks! I s'pose I could just get some from the store couldn't I lol I did some more reading and there are a few good stories of people getting a nice mood lift from eating it raw / chewing. Interesting stuff. Some experiences I found: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5777 http://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Galangal.shtml It's funny, the stuff on galangal is all about ingesting the root, but the wikipedia page for krachai talks about using the sap from the leaves. They are two different plants, I guess. All parts of the plant have specialised uses. Edited July 28, 2013 by Cimi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leaves Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) So both Alpinia galangal & Kaempferia galanga have effect on the mind? Didn't know that, always thought K.galanga had effects. Ha, I'd come to the conclusion along time ago that people promoting Alpinia galangal consumption were playing around in an attempt to get people to burn their mouth and ass out. Edited August 9, 2013 by Leaves Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gecko Posted August 13, 2013 There's been a bit of confusion with 'galangal' and other members of ginger family.just to try and clear it up if there is any confusion here...Alpinia galanga = galangal, galanga, greater galangal , Kha ( Thai), Laos (Indonesia) , lenkuwas ( Malay)used in most Thai curry pastes, Indonesian spice pastes laksa and many Vietnamese Lao and cambodian foods.Kaepferia galanga = sand ginger, Kencur (Indo), Cikur (Sundanese), pro hom (Thai),'lesser galangal' (a name better reserved for another plant- A.officinarum)used a lot in Indonesia in spice pastes esp. sate sauce not used a lot in Thai food, but more medicinallyBoesenbergia rotunda (syn. B.pandurata, K.pandurata) = Chinese keys, Krachai (Thai) temu kunci (Indo)used a lot in Thai foods esp. fish dishes, Gaeng som pla (sour fish curry) etc.doesn't seem to feature as much in Indonesian foods and is used more medicinally I believe.K.rotunda = 'resurection lily' used medicinally throughout SE.Asia, but doesn't seem to be usad much as a food.Alpinia officinarum = lesser galangal (the real one) I'm so far yet to find this one in Aust. ( after 20yrs+ of keeping an eye out for it)I've seen it in Sri Lanka , but failed to secure some to bring back to Aus.I believe that this is one of the vital ingredients used to flavour Campari and many other old liquersand is possibly the galangal that was popular in European cooking a few centuries ago.there are many other Zingiberaceae used in food and medicine...some of the obscure Zingiber spp. and Curcuma spp.then ther are the 'cardamoms' -Elettaria cardamomum and Amomum spp.If anyone has Alpinia officinarum in Aust,I'd almost kill for some :-) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
