Young rhizomes have the best flavour and are more tender. Peel, and then steam or boil small ones. Eat with jeow. The root is used in daily cooking – in noodle soup, soop and lahp. The steamed flower is eaten. Leaves are used to wrap fish before grilling or steaming. The seed is harvested in January and February; it is traded with the Chinese who use it as a traditional medicine. The root is also mixed with neem leaves and lemongrass, and then pounded, soaked and strained. The resultant liquid is sprayed as a pesticide. It is a natural food given to improve a mother’s health in the first month after birth.

Galangal shoots ຍອດຂ່າ nyot ka

These long, creamy shoots are steamed and eaten with poon bpaa and other fish dishes.