Asian Vegetable & Herb Guide
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Amaranth Amaranthus tricolor Asian Basil Ocimum basilicum Bitter Melon Ceylon Spinach Basella alba Chinese Broccoli English Chinese spinach, English Thai basil, sweet basil Momordica charantia English malabar spinach, Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra edible amaranth Chinese hsiang tsai English bitter gourd, slippery vegetable English Chinese kale, white Chinese een choi Bahasa selaseh balsam pear Chinese saan choi flowering broccoli Bahasa bayam Thai horapa Chinese foo gwa Bahasa remayong, Chinese gai lan Thai phak khom suan This is a tropical variety of sweet Bahasa peria Thai phak plang Thai pak khana Greek vlita (green variety) basil and is recognizable by its Thai mara A tropical vine that can reach One of the most common Asian A mild tasting annual plant, the purple stems and flower spikes This pale green vegetable covered a height of 10 metres. Only the vegetables, it is cultivated for its most common variety having and distinct aniseed perfume. in warts is eaten when firm and not leaves and young stems are eaten; young flowering stems and young red centred leaves. (There is also It figures prominently in Thai fully ripe. It is favoured throughout they are used in salads, steamed leaves. Ideally buy and use while a smaller leafed green variety curries and seafood stir-fries and Asia for its body-cooling properties. and cooked in soups, in much the flower heads are tightly closed. available in summer). It is widely is added to Vietnamese salads It is salted or blanched to remove the same way as spinach. It has It is most commonly blanched available and cooked in much the and soups, particularly pho. some of its bitterness and stir-fried or a mucilaginous texture like okra, or stir-fried. It is delicious served same way as spinach. Both its braised with meat. It can be stuffed hence its name slippery vegetable. with oyster sauce. leaves and stalks can be stir-fried. with pork and served in broth, It can also be blanched and curried, pickled or boiled. Southern seasoned with salt, olive oil and Indians salt and dry it. The tender lemon juice as a cooked salad. leaves and stems of this vine can be cooked in soup or stir-fried. Chinese Cabbage Chinese Flowering Cabbage Chinese Celery Chinese Chard Shanghai Chinese Chard Brassica rapa var. pekinensis Brassica rapa var. parachinensis Apium graveolens var. dulce Brassica rapa var. chinensis Brassica rapa var. chinensis English Peking cabbage, English Chinese flowering English Chinese celery English Chinese white cabbage English Shanghai Chinese chard Napa cabbage cabbage Chinese kun choi Chinese bok choi Chinese Shanghai bok choi Chinese wong nga baak Chinese choi sum Bahasa daun saderi Thai phakkaat farang A pale green, sweet and delicate Japanese hakusai Thai pak kwang tung Thai kuen chai This type of bok choi has white member of the cabbage family, Thai phak kwaang tung This is the most common of Asian Arabic karfas stems and dark green leaves just this is one of the most popular Pale green and elongated in shape, greens. It is sold in bunches with Darker in colour and smaller than like western chard. It needs careful Chinese vegetables, especially this can be used in all the same smooth bright green stems and Western celery, this plant could washing as there is often sand in its young form (baby bok choi). ways as regular cabbage but elongated leaves with clusters be mistaken for continental parsley between the bases of the leaves. It needs careful washing as there it has a milder and sweeter flavour. of yellow flowers. It needs only were it not for its strong celery It can be blanched, stir fried, eaten is often sand between the bases It can be used raw in coleslaws brief cooking to wilt the leaves flavour. Its leaves and stalks can on its own or added to soups. of the leaves. It can be blanched, and shredded for use in soups and and keep the stems firm but tender. be added to meat soups or stir-fries. stir fried, eaten on its own or stir-fries.The large leaves can also Most commonly blanched and The leaves are also used together added to soups. be blanched and stuffed with meat served with oyster sauce, it can with parsley and mint in many or other fillings. also be stir-fried or sliced and Middle Eastern dishes. added to soups. Coriander Curry Leaves Fish plant Houttuynia cordata Galangal Alpinia galanga Garland Chrysanthemum Coriandrum sativum Murraya koenigii English fish plant, fishwort, English Siamese ginger, Chrysanthemum coronarium English coriander, cilantro English Indian curry leaves heart leaf, galangal, galingale English chrysanthemum greens, Chinese uen sai Bahasa daun kari chameleon plant Chinese hang dou kou edible chrysanthemum Thai pak chee Hindi meetha neem Chinese ji cai Bahasa lengkuas Japanese shungiku Also known as Chinese parsley Sri Lanka karapincha Thai phak kao thong Thai kha Chinese tong ho or cilantro, the fresh stems and Dark green tapered leaves growing This plant has a heart-shaped An aromatic rhizome of the ginger The young leaves may be eaten leaves of the coriander plant are along a central stem, they have leaf with a fishy smell and a slightly family, galangal should be bought raw but are usually stir-fried or widely used to garnish soups, an unmistakable fragrance and are sour flavour. Eaten raw as part when pink and fresh. Used widely used as the leafy ingredient in salads and cooked dishes. The root used mainly in South Indian and of table salad, it is said to ease in South East Asia, it is an essential simple soups. They also feature of the plant is cleaned and pounded Sri Lankan dishes.They are usually stomach cramps and to be ingredient in Thai curry pastes and in Japanese sukyaki and clear into Thai flavour bases for soups fried in oil with other spices before especially beneficial for women. Tom Yam soups. It is used with fish soups. Cook briefly as they and stirfries as well as curry adding the other ingredients in North Vietnam. To store, wrap become bitter if overcooked. pastes. It is an essential herb in to the dish. in paper towel and keep in a plastic The flowers of these edible Moroccan and Mexican cuisines. bag. Do not refrigerate as this species are dried and infused causes it to blacken and become as an herbal tea. tough and hard to cut. Garlic Chives Flowering Garlic Chives Ginger Zingiber officinale Green Mango Green Papaya Carica papaya Allium tuberosum Allium tuberosum English ginger Mangifera indica English green papaya English Chinese leek, English flowering Chinese Chinese geung English green mango Chinese muk gwa Chinese chives leek, flowering Bahasa halia Thai mamuang dib Thai malakor dib Chinese gau choi Chinese chives Thai khing Green mango is the unripe fruit The large torpedo shaped papaya Thai kuichai Chinese gau choi fah This aromatic tuber is often used of certain varieties of mango – variety is used unripe, its flesh cut Characterised by their flat, garlic- These are the round, flower with garlic and chilli as a flavour especially the fragrant Thai Nam into long shreds and seasoned flavoured leaves, these chives are bearing stems of the garlic base for fish marinades or shredded Doc Mai. It is fragrant and as a salad vegetable. In North East used as a garnish in Vietnamese chive plant. They are usually together with spring onions and pungently sour. Thinly sliced, Thailand and Laos it is pounded rice paper rolls, as an addition added to stir-fries. coriander as a garnish for steamed it is eaten with salt and chilli and heavily seasoned with chilli, sugar and fish sauce with peanuts, to soups and to Thai noodle dishes. fish. It is also often used as an throughout South East Asia. They are also an essential element aromatic element in chicken and It can be shredded and combined snake beans and tomatoes as an accompaniment to the staple sticky in Chinese chive pancakes and meat soups. It can be finely julienned with herbs and fresh or dried rice. Green papaya can also be omelettes. and added raw to salads or sweet shrimp, squid or fish and served pickled with fish or shrimp. When dishes and ginger flavoured syrup is as a salad. ripe, its flesh is yellow and edible poured over silken tofu as a dessert. as a fruit although it has a somewhat Ginger juice is obtained by finely unpleasant smell. Cantonese use grating on a porcelain grater – the semi ripe fruit in both sweet especially in Japanese recipes. and savoury soups. Green Radish Holy Basil Ocimum sanctum Hot Mint Polygonum odoratum Jicama Pachyrhizus erosus Kaffir Lime Citrus hystrix Raphanus sativus Hindi tulsi English laksa leaves, Vietnamese English jicama, yam bean English makrut, kaffir lime var. longipinnatus Thai gaprow mint Chinese sa got Bahasa limau purut English green oriental radish A species of basil native to India Bahasa daun kesum Bahasa bangkuang Thai makrut Chinese cheng loh baak where it is considered a holy plant Thai pak phai Thai man gaeo A highly aromatic member of the A green version of the daikon and used in Ayurvedic medicine. Not a true mint, this plant has long, A native of South America, the citrus family, the kaffir lime has or white radish, it is used mainly It has soft, slightly hairy leaves and pointed green leaves and distinctive jicama has white, sweet, crisp glossy double leaves and bumpy as a soup vegetable. either purple or green stems and purple markings. It has a pungent flesh. It can be eaten raw as a fruit dark green fruit. The grated rind of flowers.