Galangal, whether grown wild in the forest or planted in home gardens in Dien Bien, is still a plant that people harvest all year round. From the galangal clumps grow young pink plants, also known as galangal sprouts, galangal shoots or galangal bamboo shoots...
Galangal, whether grown wild in the forest or grown in home gardens, is a plant that people harvest year-round.
In addition to galangal root, a familiar spice, at times such as early spring, mid-summer and early fall, corresponding to the bamboo shoot season, from the galangal clumps grow pinkish young plants, also known as galangal sprouts, galangal shoots or galangal bamboo shoots.
Galangal bamboo shoots are also a fresh ingredient used in many attractive dishes of the Thai people for tourists when they have the opportunity to visit and explore the culinary culture of Dien Bien.
Galangal is known as a spice that enhances the flavor of dishes and is also a valuable medicine. However, few people know that the leaves, flowers, and fruits of galangal can all be used in cooking.
For example, galangal leaves can be pounded to extract the juice and used to soak sticky rice to help create a natural green color, making banh chung more beautiful. Galangal flowers can also be used to make many delicious dishes, and the most special is galangal sprouts, also known as galangal bamboo shoots.
Galangal shoots or young shoots of the galangal plant are also a rustic, familiar ingredient used in many dishes of the Thai people of Dien Bien.
From the galangal clumps grow pinkish young plants, also known as galangal sprouts, galangal shoots or galangal bamboo shoots. Galangal bamboo shoots are a specialty vegetable of Dien Bien that can be processed into many delicious dishes.
In Thai, galangal bamboo shoots are called “no khao”, this type usually grows all year round, but is most abundant in early spring, mid-summer and early fall. Therefore, to harvest galangal bamboo shoots, people only need to look at the roots of old galangal trees and then dig up the young, pale pink and plump bamboo shoots.
With galangal bamboo shoots, Thai people in Dien Bien have many recipes, but because of their crunchy texture, light sweetness and delicious aroma, galangal bamboo shoots are most often used in mixed vegetables or salads.
However, no matter what combination or recipe is used, the general feeling that dishes made from galangal bamboo shoots bring is rusticity and simplicity, and perhaps this is also a suggestion for the idea of preparing dishes from galangal bamboo shoots if meals with a lot of food make diners feel bored and full.
According to experience, delicious galangal bamboo shoots must be young, not yet grown into leaves, with sharp tips, light pink color, each galangal bamboo shoot is usually 20-25cm high.
When picking galangal bamboo shoots, the processor only needs to use his hands to peel off the hard outer shell of the bamboo shoot to get the young shoots inside, but must be very skillful in order to be able to select both the core as well as the young shell at the top of the bamboo shoot. Then, the bamboo shoots need to be broken into pieces about 5-6cm long for easy eating.
With galangal bamboo shoot salad, the important thing is to choose the right ingredients and spices for the salad so that the dish has a harmonious, delicious and attractive flavor.
One thing that is easy to see is that galangal bamboo shoot salad often gives diners a sense of simplicity, because besides the main ingredient of galangal bamboo shoots - which creates the main flavor for the dish, the other ingredients are very easy to find, but to have a delicious dish, you definitely need to have your own secret.
In addition to using year-round vegetables such as cassava or ban vegetables, in the summer, galangal bamboo shoots are also combined with vegetables such as gai vegetables, gac vegetables, sweet bamboo shoots, and sat bamboo shoots.
Thai people in Dien Bien have many ways to prepare galangal bamboo shoots by combining them with many different types of vegetables such as ban vegetables, cassava vegetables, gai vegetables, or bamboo shoots, wild eggplants, papaya flowers... to enrich the flavor of the dish.
And the first recipe to mention is galangal bamboo shoots combined with cassava leaves and wild eggplant. First, you need to choose the plump young cassava buds that still have a fine layer of powder on the tip of the shoot, pick them and soak them in water, then boil them thoroughly to soften the vegetables and remove some of the sap.
Next, people boil wild eggplant and galangal bamboo shoots for about 7 minutes, then remove and let cool, then mix in spices such as chili, garlic, seasoning powder, and MSG to complete the salad.
The second recipe is galangal bamboo shoots combined with ban vegetables and cactus beans. After cleaning, boil the galangal bamboo shoots with ban vegetables and cactus beans for about 10 minutes, then remove the ingredients to cool and drain, then mix in spices such as chili, garlic, mac khen, MSG and seasoning powder to have a delicious, sweet and unique salad.
In addition to using year-round vegetables such as cassava or ban vegetables, in the summer, galangal bamboo shoots are also combined with vegetables such as gai vegetables, gac vegetables, sweet bamboo shoots, and sat bamboo shoots.
For all types of bamboo shoots, the preparation is the same: clean, peel and then boil for about 30 minutes. However, the bamboo shoots are small and easy to cook, so they only need to be boiled for about 15 minutes.
As for galangal bamboo shoots and other types of vegetables, gac fruit should only be boiled for about 7-10 minutes or cooked until just cooked to clearly feel the crispness and sweetness. Because when vegetables are just cooked and crispy, the outside has time to absorb the spices, but the inside still retains the inherent sweetness of the vegetables.
Therefore, with these wild vegetables, attention must be paid during the processing stage to preserve their characteristic flavor. Next, to complete the salad, the skillful mixing of accompanying spices such as: Chili, garlic, salt, MSG, herbs and crushed galangal root is required.
In addition to mixed vegetables, the most attractive "version" of galangal bamboo shoots is to make a salad with papaya flowers and pig ears. After picking the papaya flowers, you need to remove the long stems, take only the flower part, then clean it and put it in a pot to boil for about 7-10 minutes.
Boil to ensure the ingredients are soft enough, not overcooked but not too tough. Pig ears must also be boiled and then sliced thinly to absorb the spices quickly.
Next, you need to prepare other accompanying ingredients such as lime juice or kumquat (Thai people often use kumquat in this dish because kumquat has a mild sour taste and a characteristic aroma, making it more flavorful), then you need a few cloves of garlic, sour leaves, lemongrass and galangal bamboo shoots.
All of these ingredients blend together to create a rich and unique flavor, making the dish both strange and delicious, and most especially, according to the Thai people's concept, this dish also prevents many diseases and is very good for human health.
Rich braised fish with bamboo shoots and galangal - one of the delicious specialties of Dien Bien.
It can be said that with galangal bamboo shoots, it is not simply a dish that brings a cool, refreshing feeling, beneficial for health, but the attraction also exudes from the aroma of young galangal shoots, which is completely different from the smell of galangal roots.
Even when the galangal bamboo shoots are peeled off, they give off a faint scent. In particular, if cooked alone, galangal bamboo shoots already have a characteristic sweet taste, however, when mixed with other vegetables and bamboo shoots, the sweetness increases many times.
Besides, this dish is also delicious because of the spicy taste of chili and garlic combined with the aroma of mac khen and essential oil of galangal buds, which is both pleasant and stimulates not only the taste but also the sense of smell of the person enjoying it.
Perhaps all of these reasons have unintentionally made dishes made from galangal bamboo shoots an indispensable choice in the list of culinary delights to enjoy, to make each visitor's trip to the Northwest more complete.
Source: https://danviet.vn/dac-san-dien-bien-rau-dac-san-cha-mang-ho-tre-truc-ma-van-moc-mang-non-kho-ca-an-ngon-hon-ca-20250302214253839.htm
Comment (0)