Spice
Kaempferia galanga
A tier
Kaempferia galanga is kencur—a small, roundish aromatic rhizome used in Javanese and wider Indonesian cookery, with a unique earthy-camphor perfume distinct from both ginger and greater galangal. Essential in some jamu and spice pastes. Pound fresh when available; dried kencur powder is common abroad. A little goes far. Do not assume Alpinia galanga can replace kencur’s specific note in authentic recipes.
Track this ingredient
Unit
Characteristics
Preparations
Dried PowderJamuPound FreshSpice Paste
Traits
CamphorEarthyEarthy CamphorIndonesian EssentialKencur SpeciesPotentSmall RhizomeUnique
History
ID
Javanese cuisine and jamu traditions used Kaempferia galanga.
Botanists described Kaempferia among ginger-family spices.
ID
Dried kencur supported Indonesian home cookery worldwide.
Indonesian restaurants abroad struggled to source fresh kencur.