Thai Galangal - Looks great, smells great, taste great

A dish which will "debut" in our CNY lineup this year is Steamed Chicken in Ginger Sauce. I have already talked about steaming the corn-fed Anxin bird but this recipe is different.

I have already blogged the recipe for this steamed version with ginger sauce. What will make a difference this time round is the fantastic corn-fed Anxin chicken and adding Thai Galangal to the ginger mix.

When using the steaming method to cook chicken, you will be able to tell the quality of the bird. In this recipe, the chicken is cut into small pieces and then steamed for 15-20 minutes. After that, the ginger sauce (prepared beforehand) is added. The Anxin "kampung" bird is fresh, succulent and flavorful. For this recipe, you will need a good "kampung" chicken. White broilers won't do.

As for the sauce, apart from using mature and young ginger, I added Thai young galangal. The fragrance of this Thai blue ginger is fantastic and made an immediate difference to the sauce.

Where can you buy this Thai ginger? It is sold in Golden Mile complex. But the good news is that it is beginning to make its appearance in local markets. I found some at the Ghim Moh market. Check out the veg stall which faces the small open carpark. The owner told me that this ginger is far superior to the older Malaysian galangal variety. But the profit margin is smaller. I urged him to keep selling this. Maybe you can patronize his stall too and convince him to sell this as a regular item.

There are many other uses for this, such as soups (tom yum, duck and salted veg etc), stir-fry with meat, fish etc. Try it out and you will appreciate what good ginger can do to your dishes.

I have bought enough for CNY use. I am confident that this dish will turn out superb for the dining table.

A good chicken needs a great ginger companion. It is a perfect match.

Frying the Ginger sauce: Sesame oil, garlic,  3 types of ginger, soy sauce and Hwa Tiou Wine

Small pieces in the steamer

On the dining table