Summer's hot-weather is peak time for growing and eating Vietnamese herbs. In fact, above is my friend Alec Mitchell's Vietnamese herb 'garden' that he set up on his condo balcony in Culver City. He started the herbs with an indoor Aerogarden unit and planted the seedlings in recycled terracotta pots.
Fresh herbs (rau thom) are an elemental part of the cuisine so don’t miss out on them. They offer an amazing array of nuanced flavor and soft, leafy texture unlike common western herbs such as basil and parsley. For information on why fresh herbs matter in Vietnamese cooking, the awesome array of herbs, and how to source and grow them, check out this article I wrote for the Los Angeles Times Food Section that was published today:
- Fresh Herbs at the Center of Vietnamese Cuisine, LA Times Food Section, July 15, 2009
It’s a piece I’ve wanted to see in print for years! For more, check the Vietnamese Herb Primer and Gardening section on this site. Also, peruse pages 17-20 in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen.
I think it could be confusing for most non-Asian folks to say "culantro or mint" even if culantro is often labelled "mint" in Asian markets because, even if they are related genetically, there is no similarity in taste.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-506.html
"NOMENCLATURE
"The derivation of culantro and recao, by which the plant is commonly known in Central America, is unknown but many of its names outside its natural habitat compare it to the common coriander or cilantro, e.g. Hindi bhandhanya, broad dhanya, or coriander, and Thai pak chi farang "foreign coriander." The botanical genus name Eryngium is derived from the Greek sea holly, Eryngium vulgare, and its specific name comes from the Latin foetidum meaning stink or bad odor; its smell is sometimes equated to a crushed bedbug. Some of the common names of culantro in the Caribbean area are: shado beni (Trinidad), chadron benee (Dominica), fitweed (Guyana), coulante or culantro (Haiti), recao (Puerto Rico) (Seaforth et al. 1983; Morean 1988; Seaforth 1988). Names in different languages include: langer koriander (German); ketumbar java (Malay); pak chi farang (Thai); ngo gai (Vietnamese); culantro, racao, recao (Spanish); bhandhanya (Hindi), and long leaf or spiny coriander (English)."
in addition to "recao", Puerto Ricans also call it "culantro".
Posted by: Dennis M Reed | July 15, 2009 at 08:43 PM
It is a tough situation with the various names for the herbs. Thanks for the Purdue information, Dennis. I suppose that years ago, when cilantro was coming onto the scene that calling it "Chinese parsley" was confusing too. Nowadays, it helps to be multilingual and thank goodness ingredients like culantro are more widely available, or we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | July 15, 2009 at 09:19 PM
Doesn't read to me as if she is equating culantro and mint, rather just listing three herbs: Thai basil, culantro or mint. I've never seen culantro labeled as mint, does that really happen?
Posted by: jason d | July 17, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Jason, I've never seen culantro labeled as mint either, but then, you never know...
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | July 20, 2009 at 05:33 PM
I'm interested in the labelling thing too. We buy all our Vietnamese herbs and vegetables from a series of tiny stalls on the edge of a big Vietnamese wholesale market that sells mostly textiles and toys (you can see a panoramic view of it here), and those stallholders never have any of the produce labelled. Questions about any of the produce are invariably answered with "Vietnamese vegetable, cook in wok" or "Vietnamese vegetable, eat in salad" so we just buy a bit of everything that looks good and try to identify it online when we get home. Your website has been very helpful for the herbs, so thanks for that.
I should also mention that our favourite stallholder was very impressed with the pictures and recipe selection in your book, despite not being able to read English.
Posted by: Eve | July 22, 2009 at 02:45 AM
Sorry, the picture link didn't work. Second attempt: http://www.360cities.net/image/the-vietnamese-market-in-malesice
Posted by: Eve | July 22, 2009 at 02:46 AM
Eve, thanks for the 360cities link. That's amazing. Love your insights on the Sriracha taste off post on the Viet-Czech population.
It is hard to communicate all the nuances of how to deal with a vegetable. I hear it all the time in the U.S., but I suppose that having people interested in new, unfamiliar produce is the point. So then growers and shop keepers have to step and communicate well. Little by little...
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | July 22, 2009 at 04:24 PM
Thanks for the link to that article, Andrea. It was a great read. Recently my attention has been drawn to Vietnamese herbs after an exciting trip to my local asian grocer. It was their produce delivery day and I found some beautiful rau ram, mint, and curry leaves (which were a great surprise). I should have picked up some of the shiso too, it sounds like it would have been a nice addition to the salad rolls I made. I ended up using just rau ram and mint.
Cam On, thanks again for your great website and recipes.
Posted by: Jason G | December 26, 2009 at 08:14 PM
hello everyone, i'm tim and i'm fond of herb gardening. Having your own mini garden at home is a must if you love to cook awesome and delicious meals. Herbs are great addition to almost all types of dish. Learn more about herb gardening in this site http://www.herbgardeningplace.com/.
Posted by: Tim Adam | December 30, 2009 at 07:08 AM
@Jason G: Thanks for the message! You found curry leaves? Lucky devil! I love curry leaf. Keep up the trips to the market. Those herbs are fabulous to play with!
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | December 30, 2009 at 10:35 PM
vietnamese herbs are really great for cooking. they have unique taste that make the dishes totally special. You can make your own herb gardening at home by visiting http://www.herbgardeningplace.com .
once you have a mini garden of different vietnamese herbs, you will surely love to cook all day long in the kitchen. Your dishes will be loved by your family members and guests.
Posted by: Tim Adam | January 01, 2010 at 07:20 AM
@ Andrea: yes, and I bought a whole bunch. They were better than the ones I usually get at Indian stores. Yesterday was their fresh produce day again, and I got rau ram, mint, thai basil, culantro, and shiso...all of which made their way into yesterday's salad rolls and today's pho. :)
Posted by: Jason G | January 01, 2010 at 06:30 PM
Thanks for the link to that article, Andrea. It was a great read. Recently my attention has been drawn to Vietnamese herbs after an exciting trip to my local asian grocery store. http://ww.rapidsloth has all the herb types and info on each.
Posted by: Steve | March 07, 2010 at 11:18 PM
i tried a lot of herbs in vietnam. u can import them from http://www.euphoriaplantfood.com
Posted by: NRG2 | May 28, 2010 at 11:53 AM