GLOSSARY OF INGREDIENTS

There are so many herbs, spices and seasonings used in the Southeast Asian kitchen that you could write a whole encyclopedia just on them. I’ve chosen the key and most common ingredients you’ll need for the recipes in this book.

 

1. Thai basil

There are three main types of basil used in Southeast Asian cooking: Thai sweet basil (often just referred to as Thai basil), holy basil and lemon basil. They have quite distinct flavours from one another, and in traditional Thai cooking, each type of basil is used very strictly for specific dishes. The recipes in this book will call only for Thai basil, which is generally more versatile and easily available compared to the other two. You can recognize it easily from its purple stems and flowers; its leaves are also thinner and smaller compared to the Mediterranean sweet basil we are used to. The aniseedy fragrance of Thai basil adds a distinct flavour to stir-fries, curries, and salads. The herb is stocked at most Asian stores, and is also easy to grow in a pot placed by a sunny window in the summer. You can order seeds online from sowseeds.co.uk; many garden centres also now carry pots of exotic herbs that grow well in the UK, Thai basil being one of them. If you absolutely can’t get hold of it, regular sweet basil (found easily at supermarkets) works at a pinch.

2. Mint (spearmint)

The mint you find in Southeast Asia usually has more delicate leaves compared to those you find in the UK, though they taste essentially the same. Mint is added to curries, salads, dressings and soups for its cool refreshing flavour, and is especially useful when you’ve gone a bit heavy-handed with the chillies.

3. Vietnamese hot mint (laksa leaves)

There are many types of mint used in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, each with a quite distinct flavour and use. There’s fish mint for instance, which tastes – weird as it may sound – like fish. Besides regular spearmint, you will only require Vietnamese hot mint (sometimes simply called Vietnamese mint or Vietnamese coriander) for the recipes in this book. Its citrusy, peppery taste is also a definitive flavour in Peranakan laksa, and hence Singaporeans refer to it as ‘laksa leaf’. The herb is stocked at most Asian stores, and is also easy to grow in a pot placed by a sunny window in summer. It doesn’t grow as easily from seed, but many garden centres now carry pots of exotic herbs that grow well in the UK, Vietnamese hot mint being one of them.

4. Coriander

This is one of the most important and widely used herbs in Asian cooking. The whole plant can be used, including the roots. It is a shame that many people seem to pick the leaves and discard the rest of the plant. In fact, the stems have more flavour and fragrance than the leaves and can be chopped finely and added to soups and curries at the end of the cooking time, along with the pretty leaves for garnish. The roots have the most flavour and are often pounded into Thai curry/spice pastes. It is tricky to find coriander sold with its roots still on in the UK, so you might want to try growing your own in summer. It is not difficult to take care of, and many farmers’ markets, garden centres, and even supermarkets carry pots of coriander. If you absolutely can’t get hold of coriander roots, substitute with twice the amount of coriander stems.

5. Galangal

Galangal is also known as blue ginger, though they taste completely different and should not be used interchangeably. It looks very similar to ginger, but is a paler beige colour with blushing pink stems. Try to avoid those that are reddish brown, as this is a sign of old, woody galangal. Galangal has a peppery, citrusy flavour that lends itself well to curries, soups and spice pastes. It can be found at most Asian supermarkets, and even in larger supermarkets in the UK. Fresh galangal keeps for weeks in the fridge, and can be frozen for 2–3 months. I recommend thinly slicing the galangal and wrapping the slices up before freezing; it will make things a lot easier when you find you need a slice or two to cook with.

6. Ginger

Fresh ginger is an essential in Asian cooking, especially in soups, stir-fries and steamed dishes. Ginger gets hotter as it ages; old ginger is great added to soups, stir-fries and steamed dishes. Young ginger is less fibrous and has a milder heat, so it is preferred for pickles and dishes in which the ginger is used raw as a dip (e.g. the ginger sauce for Hainanese chicken rice, here) or a garnish (e.g. chicken congee, here).

7. Kaffir lime leaves

The leaves of the kaffir lime plant have a distinct spicy, citrusy scent. They are usually deveined and then thinly sliced before being used in stir-fries or to finish curries, or simply bruised and simmered whole to infuse soups. The leaves are quite tough unless finely sliced, so whole leaves are usually discarded after cooking. You can find kaffir lime leaves quite easily at Asian stores, either fresh or frozen. They freeze well and thaw in a minute at room temperature, so it is a good idea to keep a sealed bag of them in the freezer.

8. Lime

Limes are one of the most common ingredients used to add a sour flavour to sauces and dressings, or to finish soups such as pho. They are sharper and sweeter than lemons and have a fragrance quite distinct to Southeast Asian cooking, so do not use lemons as a substitute.

9. Lemongrass

Lemongrass adds an earthy, lemony scent to curries, spice pastes, marinades and soups. These slender, firm stalks need to be cut or bruised for their fragrance to be released. Generally, the tops tend to be woodier and are not used for cooking. Trim, then remove the outer layers until you get to the smooth pale bulb. Slice thinly into rings for adding to spice pastes and marinades, or bruise before tossing whole into soups and curries. You can save the woody stalks for brushing grilled meat with oil during a barbecue; this infuses the meat with a hint of lemongrass flavour. Lemongrass is easily available nowadays, and can be found in supermarkets, and Asian stores of course. It freezes well and thaws easily. Never substitute with dried lemongrass; it doesn’t have the fragrant essential oil you are after and tastes musky and bitter.

10. Shallots

My mum calls shallots ‘better onions’. I know that’s not technically correct, but I kind of agree. Shallots have the sweetness of onions and the pungent aroma of garlic. They are one of the most essential aromatics in Southeast Asian cooking – thrown into stir-fries, pounded into curry or spice pastes, added raw to salads, or fried till crispy and used as a final flourish to dishes (see fried shallots and shallot oil, here). Though similar in flavour, the shallots you get in Southeast Asia are about half the size of those in the UK, with deep pink skins. Just so we are clear about quantities, the recipes in this book make use of the larger brown-skinned shallots common in the UK.

11. Pandan leaves

These long, flat green leaves have a very distinctive sweet fragrance that is hard to describe, as there aren’t any ingredients with a similar scent that I can draw as references. It is sometimes referred to as the vanilla of Southeast Asia. The leaves are used to flavour rice and desserts, or to wrap meats before grilling or steaming. Pandan is sometimes also crushed to extract its green juice, which is used as a natural food dye and flavouring (see ondeh ondeh, here, for how-to). They can only be found frozen in the UK, at Asian supermarkets.