Monica Bhide 
I enjoy reading Su-Mei Yu because she writes things like, “The perfume released from galangal reminds me of the warm and fresh scent in the air after a heavy downpour of monsoon.”
That makes me want to run in the kitchen and cook with galangal, so I interviewed her about it. And when I did, the wet-weather metaphors continued. “Sliver a tablespoon or two of young galangal into matchsticks and add to your salad," she suggested. "It is like sprinkling a bit of a rain shower over it as it magically perks up other ingredients by sharpening their tastes and flavors."
Read my piece on galangal and check out Su-Mei Yu's glorious glazed pear with lemongrass galangal syrup recipe. It is a perfect dessert.
I love her book “Cracking the Coconut”. It’s almost as much food anthropology as it is a cookbook. Very informative.
That makes me want to run and get some galangal, pronto!
wow this looks so good. i love Galangal