Suddenly I'm flushed with lots of rice paddy herb (ngo om, pronounced "n-gaw om") due to the nifty new growing tip I got recently. In the Vietnamese Kitchen, the classic use for this herb is in sour fish soup with tamarind, tomato, and okra. After reading the post on how to create makeshift greenhouses for the plants, several people asked what other uses there are for the citrusy-cuminy little darling.
My suggestion is to chop up the tender sprigs and use them to finish any kind of dish where you'd normally have cumin. In a curry that employs Madras curry powder and coconut milk, I found that a bit of rice paddy herb contributed a refreshing endnote. At a Viet restaurant in San Jose, I noticed that they added ngo om at the last minute to a braised dish featuring eel and turmeric.
Thinking out of the Viet box, I recently experimented with adding finely chopped ngo om to guacamole, a yogurt-based salad dressing, as well as a raita (Indian yogurt-based sauce). In these cases, the herb worked just fine. I just had this thought -- that rice paddy herb would probably be nice paired with legumes too, perhaps stirred into black beans right before serving or added to a vinaigrette to season cooked white beans or lentils, which would make a great summer salad or as a bed for panseared fish or scallop. A baba ghanoush-style roasted eggplant mash would get a nice lift from rice paddy herb.
So when you're cooking Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese food, think of rice paddy herb as a refreshing substitute for cumin (or enhancer of cumin's earthiness), a friend of turmeric, or just lovely on its own as a delicate seasoning. It's best chopped up since it's slender long stems are pretty to look at but awkward to chew. Whatever you do, DO NOT cook ngo om. Use it raw so you capture its essence well.
If you've got suggestions, share them with the rest of us!
Andrea, I like it when people think outside of the box, and find non-Vietnamese applications for traditional Vietnamese ingredients. Such as using Ngo Om in the dishes you mention above. Similar experiments and innovations are happening with non-Viet cooks using garlic chives, lemongrass, Tio To, Vietnamese "anise" basil, star anise, etc. Vietnamese cuisine is probably partly responsible for so many people now using cilantro in everything.
It's fun and interesting, and sometimes rewarding, to throw the process into reverse and find Vietnamese applications for Western ingredients. In some Viet dishes, European chives make a fantastic alternative garnish for chopped scallions. Chervil isn't a substitute for anything, but it is a great last minute addition to Bo Kho or Pho or any dish featuring star anise. Chervil just tastes like it should accompany star anise. Finely chopped tarragon is also a great addition, especially to any kind of salad. And fresh parsley is good just about anywhere. I haven't yet discovered any Vietnamese uses for oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, or file powder, and I'm 99% sure I never will, but some experiments have been rewarding.
I'm not quite as bold when it comes to messing around with staple ingredients, but adding parsnips to the carrots in Bo Kho has been one of the successful experiments... :-)
Posted by: Simon Bao | July 30, 2007 at 01:19 PM
@ Simon, its really interseting to have a viet being quiet creative about a non-vietnamese western ingredients.Can you put up a recipe for such mile, I will definitely give it a trial.
Posted by: Grow Tent | May 14, 2008 at 09:42 AM
Gardening is my life. I'm an agler, not a fighter.
Posted by: julis sujai | July 08, 2008 at 05:16 PM
Well, I certainly can't find rice paddy herbs anywhere locally and now one seems to be able to order it. Perhaps it's available on line... sure would like to try this as I do love cumin but an alternate is always a little more interestin. Thanks for the article
All the best,
Chris
Posted by: Home Greenhouses | July 16, 2008 at 12:21 PM
Everyone dreams of an organized home where everything is in its place and easy to find. But even in newer homes where builders have included walk- in closets, kitchen pantries and bathroom linen closets, many families still find themselves surrounded by clutter. Growing families especially seem to…
Posted by: Award winning kitchen addition & remodel | March 02, 2009 at 04:16 PM
One of the best uses for Ngo Om is to chop it finely and add it to raw yoghurt with a little Kala namak (black salt) and water. Blend with a couple of ice cubes for a relaxing drink. Rice Paddy Herb has a very soothing effect on the mind and sends stress packing.
Burton Dale
Posted by: Burton Dale | August 23, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Great idea, Burton! The slightly sulfurous quality of black salt totally pairs well with rice paddy herb. We can probably all use a little bit of your drink everyday. Thanks.
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | August 24, 2009 at 11:14 AM
I love citrus & cumin flavors, so after reading this I tried adding a few Ngo Om sprigs to my favorite take out Banh Mi sandwich - grilled tofu. (I was able to do this because the restaurant is right next to an Asian market.) The results was delicious! I don't know if the results would be as good with meat, but I highly suggest anyone try Rice Paddy herb on top of grilled tofu. Like the other poster, I also hope to find a source for the live plant - the store bought cluster goes bad to quickly. Even though the stems have little roots under the leaves, they don't absorb water in a glass like the other herbs and deteriorate fast. If anyone finds an online source please let us know. Thanks, Cynthia
Posted by: Cynthia Taylor | November 14, 2009 at 09:51 AM
Great tip, Cynthia! Thanks for adding it. Rice paddy herb always gets people to go huh? Then hmm.....
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | November 18, 2009 at 10:35 AM