So with a name like Vietnamese coriander, it's pretty obvious where this spice came from... the Caribbean. It must have been a tortuous route, but a long time ago it was imported from the West Indies to Southeast Asia (via the East Indies?)
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Vietnamese coriander plants | Vietnamese coriander leaves and flower buds | Vietnamese coriander leaves |
| Species: | Polygonum odoratum. |
Origin: | Caribbean. |
Source: | The plant is native to the Caribbean islands and has been introduced to large parts of South-East Asia (particularly Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia). |
Used Part: | Leaves, always used fresh. |
Family: | Polygonaceae (knotweed family). |
Effect: | The herb has a smell very similar to common coriander, but with a clear lemon citrus note. It is closely related to water pepper, but with far less pungency. |
Etymology: | The genus name polygonum ("knotweed" in English) refers to the shape of the stem which is composed of many joints linked together by slightly bent "knots" or "knees" via the Greek polys "many" and gony "knee". Species name odoratum is Latin (from verb odorare) for "scented". |
Vietnamese coriander is known as rau ram in Vietnam. It is called laksa plant in Singapore and the Cantonese equivalent name laksa yip in China, these names reflecting the usage of Vietnamese coriander for the Chinese-Malaysian "noodle curry" laksa. This curry is named for its many ingredients as in the Hindi term lakh meaning "hundred thousand" or Sanskrit laksha "many". The term "Vietnamese mint" frequently found in English literature is botanic nonsense as peppermint belongs to a distant plant family, lamiaceae. | |
Uses: | Vietnamese coriander is one of the numerous herbs that give Vietnamese cuisine its unique touch. The herb is also used outside of Vietnam, appearing in Malaysian recipes and being typical of Singaporean cuisine. |
In Vietnam, especially the South, fresh herbs are a conditio sine qua non of food. A typical Southern Vietnamese noodle soup pho is based on broth (often from chicken, pork and/or fish) with a variety of ingredients including small meat pieces, boiled and raw vegetables, fish balls, young onion greens and fried garlic slices. The soup is served with lime wedges, mustard paste, fish sauce (nuoc mam), red chilli slices and herbs which are dipped into the soup. Most commonly used for this purpose is common coriander, followed by the long coriander and Vietnamese coriander varieties. | |
In Malaysia, Vietnamese coriander is a common garnish for many kinds of foods, a typical example of which is the soupy noodle dish laksa, which is native to the entire Malaysian peninsula but most often associated with the cuisine of Singapore. Laksa is also known as nonya, in reference to people of mixed Malay and Chinese ancestry (also known as "strait Chinese" whose settlement originated with the voyages of the Chinese admiral Zheng He in the 15th century. | |
Singaporean laksa differs from related foods prepared in the peninsula mostly by the use of coconut milk, which turns the originally clear soup into a creamy, rich "curry" dish. Laksa is made from boiled meat (usually chicken), sea food (fish, crabs) and a variety of vegetables (bean sprouts, celery stalk, cucumber) seasoned with the spice paste bumbu made from lemon grass, fresh turmeric, galangale, chillies, garlic and shrimp paste with chopped Vietnamese coriander sprinkled over the bowl liberally before serving. |