The market · Herbs and aromatics · Southeast Asia
Vietnamese mint
Rau răm: not a mint at all but a knotweed, with a peppery, coriander-like bite. Essential in Vietnamese salads and assam laksa.
peppery · citrusy · coriander-like
What to do with it
MalaysianAssam laksaThick rice noodles in a sour, spicy broth of flaked mackerel and tamarind, heaped with pineapple, cucumber, onion, mint and torch ginger flower, with sweet prawn paste on top.No one here has made it yetMalaysianNasi kerabuRice dyed blue with butterfly pea flowers, eaten with finely shredded herbs, kerisik, fish or chicken, budu and sambal.No one here has made it yet
If you can't find it
Vietnamese grocers, as rau răm.
- 1MintHalf mint, half corianderYou lose the peppery, almost soapy bite.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Vietnamese and Malaysian grocers. It roots easily in a glass of water, and grows like a weed on a windowsill.
- Worth knowing
- Strip the leaves from the stems and use them raw, torn at the last minute.
