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Anne Nguyen from Fullerton, CA, wrote in asking about an herb that her family frequently enjoys. Neither she nor her mom knew what it's called in English or Vietnamese. They apply the generic name of rau thom (fresh herb) to the herb. Could I help her? Read this email transcript from February 9 to 13, 2004 and find out!

Anne's Question:

My mom gave me a bag of rau thom the other day. There's one that she grows that she's not quite sure what it it's called. Here's a pic of it (it's the one on the left). Do you recognize it? Has a slightly tart flavor.

We eat the mystery herb in any application that calls for rau thom. Had it last week with cha ca Thang Long (along with rau ram, tia to, diep ca, cilantro, etc.). I put it in my goi tom thit [a salad] a couple weeks ago. Its leaves are generally from 2" to 4" long, kind of narrow with an oval tip. The ones in the pic are the smaller ones.

My answer:

I believe the mystery herb is sorrel. It's very hardy and has a tart, lemony taste. Actually, it grows like a weed! I can see why it would be good in Vietnamese dishes.

If I'm right and the herb is sorrel, then the herb is the name of a number of plants of the genus Rumex. It grows wild throughout Europe and Asia. Most of the stuff I have on it talks about uses in England, France and Italy. You often hear of French Sorrel and its use in sauces to go along with fish. When pounded to a paste with vinegar or lemon juice and sugar, sorrel becomes part of English greensauce and is eaten with meat and fish. In the European kitchen, sorrel may be used in soups, purees and sauces, tucked into an omelette or stuffed into fish.

I'll send the pic to my parents and check with them.

My parents weigh in with this email:

That's the Sorrel. Go to Google with "Vegetables - Sorrel", go down the page and click on "Sorrel" and you'll find it. It's oseille in France, here they use for soup. Bo [dad] saw it at the market. It's little sour and as Me [Mom] said, Vietnamese people eat it raw as rau thom. Not in Viet-Nam, but here only, so we don't have a Vietnamese name. Bo Gia. [Old Daddy]

By the way click on http://www.mycustompak.com/healthNotes/Food_Guide/Sorrel.htm for more info.

The final conclusion?

The mystery herb is sorrel and it's eaten by Vietnamese-Americans. Because there's evidence that sorrel grows in Asia, perhaps it was eaten in the past or by a few Viet people. Someone must have stumbled on sorrel in Asia and started the practice of eating it with Vietnamese food. If you happen to know, share the wealth with the rest of us by emailing me!

In summary, this is great new knowledge and I've added it to the essential Viet herbs page on this site. Many thanks to Anne for this contribution to the kitchen!