Galangal – Alpinia galanga – is a rhizome in the family of ginger. We call it “langkawas” in the Philippines from the Indonesian or Malay word “lengkuas”. It is used mainly for Asian or Thai cooking but it has some medicinal properties too. It is considered an stimulant by homeopathic practitioners. It is also a…
Lemongrass is a perennial plant with grass like leaves. I like to grow them for my sometimes urge to cook Thai cuisine like Thai chicken curry, red or green. I also use lemongrass for tea by boiling the leaves instead of throwing it away after taking the bulbous part which is the main part that…
Bay leaf is an herb that imparts a good flavor for any cooking especially European cuisine. I use it practically for all my Spanish style recipes like adobo, menudo, afritada and much more. I want to use it so much I bought a small plant and it is taller now. I actually pruned it already…
A gardener friend of mine gave me this plant but I don’t know the name. He’s Vietnamese so I figure I have to look it up as a Vietnamese plant. But since I have tasted it, it reminded me of the sorrel plant I used to have in my garden. It tasted the same, sour…
Knowing herbs as an important part of our culinary world, I tried to study them and experimented on how to grow and how to use them in my cooking. Over the years, I was able to develop a liking to certain types of herbs and so I learned also how to preserve them by drying…