Javanese Coriander

Learning

To those loving pho (Vietnamese noodles) esp. Ho Chi Minh City style this herb is not something new. This herb gives unique strong flavor of herb in the pho broth. Some people say it is a replacement of cilantro (coriander leaves) but to me this herb can only replace cilantro in South East Asian food —at least in my limited knowledge and culinary experience. This herb is not the best in Western food which is mostly tasteless oops I mean bland…. Sorry, I don’t mean to. People won’t like their pancake or even sandwich with culantro. 😎

I bought it every time I traveled to Vietnam before pandemic and found it in a plant store around Ang Mo Kio yesterday. Good for the view. Good for noodle bowl. Good for the mood. 💚

when it’s finally found here! 🥰
Vietnamese call it ngo gai, Western call it culantro, we Javanese call it ketumbar Jawa (Javanese coriander) – perennially grown everywhere behind our grandparents’ home 💝
where our ancestors started their humble legend, among lush greenery ❣️ culantro, pepper, vanilla orchid, herbs, etc, and so on can be found there