Torch ginger bud ✦

Bouton de gingembre torche (bunga kantan)

What it is

The bud rises on its own stalk straight out of the ground, quite separate from the five-metre leafy stems, so a plantation looks like a field of pink cones with a thicket standing behind it. In Penang assam laksa the sliced bud is what makes the broth read as sour before the tamarind does — a flower doing an acid’s work.

In the kitchen

Slice across the bud as thinly as you can manage, under a millimetre; any thicker and it eats like a stiff onion. Add it in the last five minutes of a laksa — held at a simmer it turns soapy and the perfume boils away.

Goes with

Tamarind paste Fish sauce Fermented shrimp paste (belacan) Lemongrass Coconut milk Lime Chili pepper

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