biology daily - the biology and biochemistry encyclopedia
biology daily articles and research Encyclopedia Dictionary Forums biology research links Weblinks Pictures Articles Blogs Newsletter

Vietnamese Coriander

Vietnamese Coriander (Polygonum odoratum syn. Persicaria odorata, Polygonaceae) is a herb whose leaves are commonly used in South-East Asian cooking. Despite the name, it is not a species of mint, but resembles mint somewhat in both appearance and taste. Other English names for the herb include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Cambodian mint and hot mint. The Vietnamese name is Rau ram.

Above all, the leaf is identified with Vietnamese cuisine, where it is commonly eaten fresh in salads and in raw spring rolls (cha gio). Bowls of pho (beef noodles) are also typically garnished with Vietnamese mint.

In Singapore and Malaysia, the shredded leaf is an essential ingredient of laksa soup, so much so that the Malay name daun laksa means "laksa leaf".



07-14-2008 23:18:10
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
BiologyDaily.com 2005. Legal info   Privacy