''Boesenbergia rotunda'' (Thai: กระชาย ''krachai'', Khmer: ខ្ជាយ ''k'jeay'', Indonesian: temu kunci), commonly known as Chinese keys, fingerroot, lesser galangal or Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, because the shape of the rhizome resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece. Fingerroot is a kind of ginger (Zingiberaceae). It is an annual crop and indigenous to southern

Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...

, China, to west

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, growing in tropical rain forest. It has an

underground stem Underground stems are modified plant parts that derive from stem tissue but exist under the soil surface. They function as storage tissues for food and nutrients, in propagation of new clones, and in perennation (survival from one growing season to ...

, known as a rhizome. This spreads into many bunches in the same way as banana, ginger, galangal and

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...

. These structures accumulate nutrients and the middle part is more swollen than the head and bottom part. The inner part has a range of colours and aromas depending on the variety of fingerroot. The above-ground part is composed of a leaf stalk that has a sheath covering it. The leaf sheaths are red, the blades are oval in shape and the apex of leaves are sharp. Chinese ginger is a herbaceous plant with a height of . The leaf is about long and wide. The middle of the petioles are deeply grooved. The flower appears between the leaf sheaths at the bottom of the trunk. The petals are white or light pink. Flowers bloom one at a time. Flower of a fingerroot

Common names

* Khmer: kcheay (ខ្ជាយ) * Indonesian: temu kunci * Meitei: yai-macha * Sinhalese: haran kaha (හරං කහ) * Thai: krachai (กระชาย) * Vietnamese: ngải bún, nga truật

Uses

Fingerroot is known as temu kunci in Indonesian. It is widely used in

Javanese cuisine Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major ethnic group in Indonesia, more precisely the province of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. Definition Javanese cuisine refers exclusively to the cuisine of Javanese people, ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. In addition to its culinary uses, it is also specifically used as a spice, or as flavoring agents, dyes, or also tradition medicine. After its discovery, ''B. rotunda'' has been used in research material in rat studies and microbiological studies (see Research and Studies section). In Thai cooking, fingerroot is called ''krachai'' ( th, กระชาย; ) and is an ingredient of dishes such as '' kaeng tai pla''. It is used in some ''

kroeung ''Kroeung'' ( km, គ្រឿង, krœăng, ) is a generic Khmer word for a number of spice/herb pastes that make up the base flavors of many Khmer dishes.Cambodian Cooking Clas''What makes Cambodian Cuisine different'' Accessed July 21, 2007. ...

'' pastes of Cambodian cuisine and is known as ''k'cheay'' ( km, ខ្ជាយ). In the west it is usually found

pickled Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called ...

or frozen. The rhizomes are commonly used as vegetables in main dishes or eaten raw when young. It is also used to help make fermented soya bean cake, also called

tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhiz ...

, a traditional Indonesian food. Its roots and rhizomes are cultivated in Indonesia, Indochina, and India in small homes and is also popularly used in flavorful curry dishes. Fingerroot is also incorporated into tonic mixtures such as the famous Indonesian tonic ''

jamu Jamu ( Van Ophuijsen Spelling: Djamoe; Javanese: ) is a traditional medicine from Indonesia. It is predominantly a herbal medicine made from natural materials, such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves and fruits. Materials acquired from ...

''. It is sometimes confused with ''

Alpinia officinarum ''Alpinia officinarum'', known as lesser galangal, is a plant in the ginger family, cultivated in Southeast Asia. It originated in China, where its name ultimately derives. It can grow 1.5 to 2 m high, with long leaves and reddish-white flowers. ...

'', another plant in the family

Zingiberaceae Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Af ...

which is also known as lesser galangal.

References

External links

Gernot Katzer's Spice PagesFingerroot
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1074199 Medicinal plants of Asia Zingiberoideae Spices

Common names

Uses

See also

References

External links