Gotten any fun stuff lately?

[KennethT]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

Yesterday, I had fun shopping in a newish store in Nanning, the provincial capital an hour south of Liuzhou by bullet train. Its game is importing ingredients from Thailand and Vietnam as well as other SE Asian countries. I’ve often moaned here about not being able to get these goodies despite us bordering Vietnam and only three hours from Bangkok.

 

So, I bought some eggplants / aubergines which I posted here in the relevant topic. Here are a couple more purchases which don’t have a dedicated topic or really merit one.

 

First up is Alpinia galanga, galingal, Thai: ข่า (kha), Vietnamese: riềng nếp; Chinese: 高良姜 (gāo liáng jiāng). I was able to source this occasionally in the past, but this new place will hopefully be more reliable.

 

Galingal

 

Next we have something I am more excited about. This is the first time for me to find it here, although I’m told it is native to and still grows in neighbouring Yunnan province. They must keep it all for themselves!

 

Boesenbergia rotunda, fingerroot, Thai: กระชาย (krachai); Vietnamese: ngải bún or nga truật; Chinese: 凹唇姜 (āo chún jiāng).

 

 

The English name, one of many, is derived from its appearance. The Chinese name literally means ‘concave lip ginger’, which is derived from who knows what?

 

That'll come in handy!

 

Both of these are in the ginger family, but are subtly different in taste from other members and each other.
 

 

That's some nice looking galangal.  If you want some other names for it, it's called lengkuas in Bahasa Indonesia and Malay - one of the culinary terms that actually translate the same (not all do - ginger is jahe in Bahasa and halia in Malay).