What is Galangal

When it comes to the question of what galangal is, I believe many friends are already familiar with it. That’s right, galangal is a plant of the ginger family. It can not only be used as medicine, but also as a common seasoning for curry in Southeast Asia and other places. It not only has the effects of warming the stomach and dispelling cold, regulating qi and relieving pain. So what are the therapeutic uses of galangal? What are the effects and functions of galangal?

In fact, after removing the roots of galangal, washing it, cutting it into small pieces, and finally drying it, it becomes a traditional Chinese medicine with extremely significant effects. It can not only treat symptoms such as stomach cold and vomiting, but can even treat diseases such as indigestion and food stagnation. So what exactly is galangal?

What is galangal?

Galangal is a plant of the ginger family. Dig up in late summer and early autumn, remove the fibrous roots and remaining scales, wash, cut into sections, and dry in the sun. Can be used as medicine. Also known as galangal and honey ginger. It is a common seasoning for curry in Southeast Asia and even India.

Dietary Uses

The dried rhizome of this species is used as medicine. The Chinese name for this medicine is Alpinia galanga. The name of its medicinal use was first recorded in "Ming Yi Bie Lu". It can be used together with dried ginger for those with cold stagnation in the middle burner, or injury by cold objects, and cold pain in the abdomen. It has the effects of warming the stomach and dispersing cold, digesting food, regulating qi and relieving pain. It is mainly used to treat stomach cold vomiting and diarrhea, vomiting, belching, indigestion, eliminating food stagnation, and cold pain in the abdomen. If the spleen and stomach are weak and there is cold pain in the abdomen, it can be combined with ginseng and Atractylodes macrocephala to replenish the deficiency, warm the middle and stop the pain; if phlegm and fluid are retained in the body and cause vomiting of clear phlegm, it can be combined with Codonopsis pilosula and Weichangyin. For those with liver depression, qi stagnation, cold stagnation in the stomach, and symptoms of epigastric pain, it can be combined with Cyperus rotundus.

Modern pharmacological research shows that galangal has antioxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-diarrhea, anti-tumor, antibacterial, anticoagulant, antithrombotic, hypotensive and analgesic effects. It is clinically used to treat epigastric pain and abdominal distension.

Both galangal and ginger are root spices from the ginger family with a light camphorous smell. Both the root and powder are commercially available and are commonly used in curries and Malay cuisine in the Far East and are also added to liqueurs and bitters. Can be used as brine seasoning. Galangal powder is one of the raw materials for "five-spice powder".

Everyone already knows what galangal is. In addition to being used as a seasoning, galangal can also be added to some sweet beers for drinking, and can also be used as a seasoning for brine. In addition to these, galangal is also an excellent Chinese medicinal material that can not only nourish the spleen and warm the stomach, but also regulate qi and relieve pain. But it is a medicine after all, so consult a doctor before taking it.