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A tough fibrous root with yellowish brown skin. This Chinese herb is often brewed together with other herbs in soups that are meant to nourish and improve poor health.
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An aromatic herb, there are many types but the most common used in South East Asia are lemon basil, Thai basil and holy basil.
Lemon basil, with smaller but wider leaves, imparts a lemony kick to dishes and is more suited for gentle cooking, such as in soups.
Thai Basil — with narrow leaves, purple stems and pink or purple flowers — has a flavour that’s more stable under high heat. Apart from Thai curries, it’s also used in Taiwanese dish sanbeijie or three-cup chicken, and served raw with Vietnamese dishes.
Holy basil, also known by its Indian name tulsi, has a peppery, clove-like taste. Besides Indian dishes and Ayurvedic medicine, it’s used in noodle, chicken, pork and seafood dishes.
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Fragrant leaves from the bay tree, used to flavour stocks, casseroles and stews, especially in Mediterranean and Arab cuisines, can be crushed or used whole. They are not toxic if eaten, but they stay hard and spiky, even after cooking. If big chunks are swallowed, they can irritate the digestive tract or cause chocking. Whole bay leaves are usually removed after cooking, before serving.
In Thai cuisine, bay laurel leaves are used in Arab-influenced dishes, such as massaman curry, while in North Indian cuisine, they are used in rice dishes, such as biryani, or as an ingredient in the spice blend garam masala.
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Fresh coriander is often used as a garnish and needs little or no cooking. Often confused with Chinese celery (kin chye) because they look almost alike, taste-wise, coriander is stronger.
The stems and roots are used in fiery Thai cooking. Ground coriander seeds are also one of the key ingredients in curry pastes and mixes in South and South East Asia cooking.
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A Chinese herb usually simmered with meats to nourish women’s health. It is believed to strengthen the blood and alleviate period pains.
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Also known as polygonum leaf and Vietnamese mint, this herb has a distinct lemony scent that cannot be found in any other plant. The leaves are mostly used in laksa, which is how they got their name.
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An aromatic herb used for flavouring, it’s best associated with Thai cuisine where it’s used to scent and flavour tom yum curries. You can use it whole, sliced or pounded into a paste together with other spice ingredeints.
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These have a mild bitter taste and a spinach-like flavour, and are important herbs in the traditional ulam dishes of Malaysia. Ulam dishes, otherwise known as nasi kerabu, are rice with an assortment of shredded fresh herbs stirred into it. In traditional Malay herbal medicine, heated noni leaves are put on the chest to soothe coughs and nausea.
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You can’t go to a Japanese restaurant and miss this pretty herb — it’s often the leaf that lines plates holding sashimi (raw fish) or sushi. Part of the mint family, shiso leaves have a unique taste, somewhat like a cross between mint and celery. It’s used mostly as a condiment or garnish in Japanese cuisine.
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This is a popular herbal leaf in Malay and Indonesian cooking where raw herbs are shredded and stirred into rice dishes known as nasi kerabu or nasi ulam. With a mild lemony taste, it’s also used to flavour curries, soups and stews.
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This story was originally published in Home and Decor.