2 Galangal Ice Cream Recipes {Fragrant Recipes & Taste Notes}
One of the distinguishing features of contemporary commercial Asian ice-cream flavors is the manner in which they more boldly go for the savory range than their Western counterparts. If you have a weakness for mung bean ice-cream, green or red, or corn or taro ice-creams, good luck finding them around the corner unless you're living in China or near Chinatown. Dream on too if you think Ben & Jerry's will be inspired on their own to mix Vermont cream with Midwestern corn despite the overabundance of both...
Chinese meals are not as much dependent on the celebratory conclusion of dessert. If you go to Chinese restaurants, you will notice that more often than not, desserts are almost envisioned like sweet palate cleansers rather than a final bouquet meant to solidly establish the reputation of the cook.
This dominance of the savory over the sweet, in a way, is balanced out by the much more developed and fuzzier sweet-savory category (Sweet and Sour) as well as, arguably, by a greater prevalence of savory foods lightly sweetened within the category of desserty treats.
Galangal (Thai Ginger, Blue Ginger) ice-cream is one of those culinary possibilities, better exploited near their original source of production (South China). The spicy rhizome is used a lot in South-East-Asian cooking, in particular in Indonesia and Thailand. In Europe, it was called "the spice of life" by Hildegarde Von Bingen. It is known for its tonic and carminative properties, which would make this ice-cream a digestive one.
Below are two recipes published in US newspapers:
Galangal Spices Dishes Up Gingerly
Picture: botanical.com
