Fingerroot (Boesenbergia rotunda), also known as Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In English, the root has traditionally been called Fingerroot, because the shape of the rhizome resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece. In Thai cooking it is called krachai (Thai: กระชาย). In the west it is usually found pickled or frozen. It is sometimes confused with Lesser galangal (Alpinia officinarum), which is also in the family Zingiberaceae. Synonyms include Boesenbergia pandurata and Kaempferia pandurata.
