General Informations
Etlingera elatior (known as torch ginger, ginger flower, red ginger lily, torch lily) is a species of herbaceous perennial plant. Botanical synonyms include Nicolaia elatior, Phaeomeria magnifica, Nicolaia speciosa, Phaeomeria speciosa, Alpinia elatior, and Alpinia magnifica.
The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements, bunga kecombrang, are an important ingredient across Southeast Asia. In North Sumatra (especially in Karo tribe), the flower buds are used for a stewed fish dish called Arsik ikan mas. In Bali, people use the white part of the bottom part of the trunk for cooking chilli sauce called “Sambal Bongkot”, and use the flower buds to make chilli sauce called “Sambal Kecicang”. In Thailand, it is eaten in a kind of Thai salad preparation.
In Karo, it is known as asam cekala (asam meaning ‘sour’), and the flower buds, but more importantly the ripe seed pods, which are packed with small black seeds, are an essential ingredient of the Karo version of sayur asam, and are particularly suited to cooking fresh fish.
