Using Krachai in Thai Cooking

<center> Using Krachai in Thai Cooking </center>

Krachai is an interesting herb that you will see more of the deeper you get into eating or cooking Thai food. It’s something that despite its fairly common use in Thai food gets often overlooked as an ingredient in Thai cookbooks. In fact, glancing through the introductions of my own collection, I found only Pok Pok by Andy Ricker mentioned it. This page explains krachai’s flavor, aroma, appearance, and some common Thai dishes in which you’ll find it. 

 

What is Krachai?

 

Referred to in Thailand as krachai (กระชาย), this herb has medicinal and culinary uses throughout Southeast Asia. The edible part is known as the rhizome, which is a bunch of roots and shoots emerging from an underground stem. In this sense, it’s similar to galangal and ginger. The roots look like a small bunch of baby carrots but with a duller shade of yellow. 

 

It’s a herb with some interesting alternative names, one of which is finger root. The finger root moniker is self-explanatory when you see krachai because the rhizome does creepily resemble fingers growing from a stem.  Another alternative name is Chinese keys. You can see how the rhizome resembles keys aswell, and the Chinese part of that name comes from the fact that it’s indigenous to the tropical rainforests of Southern China. 

 

Its medicinal uses are widespread in folk medicines among different South East Asian populations. Research doesn’t appear to be overly robust, although I did find one paper highlighting its potential as a cirrhosis treatment based on a study done on rats. 

 

What Does Krachai Taste Like?

 

Krachai has an unmistakable piquant, earthy taste that brightens every other ingredient around it, especially seafood. There is a definite heat to the herb that is unlike the raw spiciness of a Thai bird chili. The aroma is pungent to the point of being almost medicinal. It’s a far different taste than ginger or galangal and I wouldn’t recommend either as a substitute.  

 

Thai Dishes Featuring Krachai

krachai in thai food

 

  • Kanom Jeen Nam Ya: A famous Southern Thai curry-soup typically made with either fish or chicken feet as the protein (yep!), this delicious dish features an aromatic, spicy sauce infused with coconut milk and generous amounts of chopped fingerroot. Always served with a type of fermented rice noodle known as kanom jeen. 
  • Hot and Spicy Spaghetti: An interesting and delicious Thai-Western fusion dish that I’ve eaten a few times in Thailand, the recipe combines krachai, holy basil, and chilis with spaghetti for a fiery, peppery-hot, and aromatic dish that has an addictive taste to it.
  • Jungle Curry: A really interesting and very spicy thin curry, jungle curry is a uniquely northern Thai curry that does not contain coconut milk due to coconuts not being abundant in the mountainous, jungle areas of the North. Krachai features in most recipes for jungle curry, bringing even more heat to the dish.  
  • Fish Entrail Curry: A uniquely fiery hot Southern Thai curry, gaeng Tai pla contains fish entrails and isn’t for the faint-hearted. Chopped Chinese keys also feature strongly in this recipe. 

 

Where To Buy Fingerroot

 

I’ve often seen it remarked that it’s hard to find fresh krachai in Western countries. I don’t know whether it’s a sign of globalization and better supply chains from the Far East, but here in Ireland, I’ve seen fresh krachai at two or three Asian grocery stores. 

 

If a recipe calls for krachai, seek out the fresh version first. If you can’t find the fresh version, it’s possible to find frozen or pickled krachai in jars. Both are very adequate substitutes for the fresh rhizome. 

 

Closing Thoughts

 

Have you tasted krachai? Let me know if you like it in the comments below. If you encountered a recipe asking for this herb, I hope now you walk away from his article informed about what it is and what it brings to Thai food dishes.  

 

Make sure you check out my Thai cookbook, which features a couple of recipes that use krachai.