炮姜

Pao Jiang is a processed form of the rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger), a perennial herbaceous plant in the Zingiberaceae cultivated throughout tropical and subtropical Asia. The aerial shoots are 0.6-1.2 m tall, with two-ranked, linear-lanceolate leaves 15-30 cm long arising from sheathing pseudostems. Inflorescences are dense cone-like spikes borne on separate short stalks from the rhizome, with pale yellow flowers marked purple. The medicinal organ is the underground branched, sympodial rhizome, pale buff externally and pale yellow internally, with a pungent aromatic odour. For Pao Jiang ("blast-fried ginger"), the dried mature rhizome (Gan Jiang) is dry-fried over high heat in sand or directly in a hot wok until the outer surface is uniformly scorched brownish-black and the interior is yellow-brown.