Vietnamese people are all about their herbs and spices. That’s the reason why I dedicated a section of my blog explaining and embracing the art of using herbs in Vietnamese cooking. Each kind of herb serves their own purpose, but most of the time, they add completion to the dish.
My mother always said this term in Vietnamese: “con ga cuc tac la chanh”, meaning, chicken always goes with lime leaves since the fragrance oil extracted from lime leaves intensifies the unique flavors of poultry meat. This is just a basic example of how we combine herbs and fragrances in our cooking, as there are many more.
I have always been curious about how Americans think of the distinct herbs we used in our daily cooking. I still remembered one time when I invited my American friends to my apartment for dinner, they were all curious about the herb used for the soup that I made: Bun Thang (a soup-based vermicelli dish topped with Vietnamese Mint: Rau Dam). As soon as I explained the herb and its function in the dish, they went: “I don’t really get what you are saying. This is the first time I have ever seen or even heard about that in my life”. Taking advantage of that, I will be testing out different food versus herbs combination, and then interview them for their thoughts, feelings, and preferences. Each week, I will be testing out a different herb, as well as using a different person for more diverse and unbiased reactions.
This week I have Cameron here with me to test out the differences between chicken eaten with ngo gai (Saw-tooth coriander) and chicken eaten with rau kinh gioi (Vietnamese balm).
First and foremost: What is ngo gai, and what is rau kinh gioi?
Ngo gai or can be called Saw-tooth, is a leafy herb popular in Vietnamese and other Southeast Asia countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, India, etc. Ngo gai is a pungent herb, which can be added to many stir fry and noodle dishes. It is often mislabeled and confused with its "cousin": cilantro, mainly for its extremely similar flavor profile. However, Ngo gai is more intense than cilantro, which has an earthy flavor with hints of citrus and a slightly bitter aftertaste. The bitterness and pungency flavor profile goes really well with poultry dishes such as pho ga (chicken pho), bun mang vit (duck noodle soup with bamboo shoots), etc.
Rau kinh gioi or often called Vietnamese balm, is a very unique herb that can be eaten raw as garnishes in a variety of cold Vietnamese dishes like green papaya salad (Goi du du), summer rolls, Vietnamese beef noodle salad (Bun bo Nam Bo, etc. Rau kinh gioi goes really well with salad and cold noodle dishes because of its refreshing lemony scent flavor. (Fun fact: Vietnamese also drink tea made by boiling water with either fresh or dried Vietnamese Balm for medicinal uses. The oil extracted from the herbs helps with inflammations, digestions and detoxications.)
Now, to the fun part!!
After convincing Cameron, he agreed to put himself out there to understand about the differences in herbs as well as to learn about how we incorporate its distinct flavors in cooking.
But first, here are some highlights about Cameron:
- Been to Vietnam once (semi-amateur)
- Totally obsessed with Vietnamese food.
- Addicted to Krystal's cooking, duhhh
- Top go-to dishes are pho bo (Beef Pho), Bun bo Hue (Vietnamese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup) and bun cha (Grilled Pork with vermicelli)
- VERY good-looking (the reason why i invited him)
I had two small bowl of Chicken Pho in front of Cameron with 2 sides of herbs: on his right is ngo gai (Saw-tooth) and on his left is kinh gioi (Vietnamese balm). To make it fair and unbiased, i didn't tell him what is the right herb to put into Chicken Pho but let him explore the differences with his taste buds. First thing first: Cameron smelled each herb (very proud of my handsome friend) and correctly picked out the right herb (ngo gai) to put into his first bowl. Without even saying, his face says it all.
Cameron then, put kinh gioi into his second bowl of Pho and decided to try the broth first. He smiled very awkwardly, which i can tell that he didn't like it. Not until his second bite that Cameron seemed to show some obvious confusion looks on his face.
After Cameron finished devouring his first bowl of Chicken Pho, I decided to conduct an interview with him.
K: Why did you pick Saw Tooth over Vietnamese Balm after smelling both?
C: They both smelled very different yet tasted even more unique. Saw-tooth aroma was very strong and sharp, while Vietnamese balm was light and citrusy. I picked Saw-tooth because i thought its intense scent would go well with such sophisticated dish like pho.
K: What do you think of Vietnamese Balm?
C: I liked it, but just not with Pho. Even though Vietnamese balm smelled refreshing, it tasted very strong. To my surprise, it overpowered the broth and left me with a very weird aftertaste. Vietnamese balm had a fruity after taste as well, which, made it weird when eaten with a hot bowl of noodle soup.
K: After tasting both, it is pretty clear to me that you like your Pho with Saw Tooth better. Can you tell me why?
C: Saw-tooth enhanced the broth with its fragrant aroma. Not only do herbs make the dish visually more appetizing, but also make pho more flavorful and interesting. This reminded me of Italian tomato-based dishes because I can tell that pasta with basil tastes very different from pasta without basil. Personally, I think herbs, if incorporated correctly, will create unique characteristics to the dish.
Conclusion
From street foods to quality dishes, herbs play a crucial role in Vietnamese cuisine. With a diversity of food in out cuisine, many kinds of herbs usage are essential ingredients to making a particular dish more flavorful and unique. Even though their taste may provoke you at first, but once you give it a try, you will might be in for more (like Cameron did).
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