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!!

Posted by: Kim P
August 14, 2018

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5 Comments

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. 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 August 14, 2018

Could they be talking about galangal?

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. 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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