Tamarind Soup using something called Laos

I have a Chinese/Asian cookbook and the above soup calls for something called Laos (it calls for 1 inch, peeled and sliced). I can't find anything on it, the internet searches just come up with the country or the cuisine of the country. Does anyone know what it is, or is it just a typo in the book? The cookbook is The Ultimate Chinese & Asian Cookbook by Hermes House. Thank you!!

Kim P
  • Posted by: Kim P
  • August 14, 2018
  • 1712 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

Smaug
Smaug August 15, 2018
There are actually several species known in Asia as galangal; the most common is Alpinia Officinarum. Galanga also has an ancient history of use in Europe (under the name galingale, which is also used for a type of sedge)-both in medicine and cooking, but has gone out of fashion except in a few Eastern European countries.
 
Kim P.
Kim P. August 14, 2018
Thank you everyone! They use the term galangal in other recipes but I guess they just wanted to keep me on my toes on this one :o) I really appreciate your help!
 
HalfPint
HalfPint August 14, 2018
Could they be talking about galangal?
 
HalfPint
HalfPint August 14, 2018
Found it:
Cookbook:Galangal. Galangal is a member of the ginger family, but it has a distinctly different flavour to ginger. Other names include galanga, galangale, laos, and blue ginger.

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Galangal
 
dinner A.
dinner A. August 14, 2018
I suspected this (but confirmed by web search): galangal root is also sometimes called "Laos root." If you can't get galangal, ginger root is a decent substitute.
 
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