Growing Rice Paddy Herb (Ngo Om)

Having to replenish my Vietnamese herb garden after the gopher attack a couple weeks ago, I visited my favorite Vietnamese market in San Jose, California, Thien Thanh (located on the corner of Keyes and Story Road). There's always a bunch of starters on sale at the door of market this time of year. A friendly store employee or two stays outside to keep an eye on customers and things happening in the tiny parking lot.

It was blazing hot and the shady overhang of the market entrance was a welcome respite from the heat, particularly when I see lush quart-size pots of tía tô (red perilla), kinh giới (Vietnamese balm), húng (mint), rau răm  (Vietnamese coriander), and various kinds of ớt (chiles). A man and woman surrounded me and honed in on making a sale. I was looking for just a pot of kinh giới and a chile plant but walked away with unexpectedly more.

Every year for the past 5 years, I've tried growing ngò om (Limnophila aromatica) and was unsuccessful at getting the sweet tender stems of the citrusy, cumin-y herb to flourish. It never grew much and would just poop out, no matter how much watering and feeding I did. This year, I vowed not to get one. Using dried cumin, just like my mom taught me, was good enough for finishing my canh chua cá (Vietnamese sour fish soup with tamarind, pineapple, and okra). Many southern Viet cooks who love this herb also finish curries with it.

 As I was checking out the herb selection, I noticed several pots covered in sweaty plastic. The man and woman informed me that it was ngò om. “Huh? What was it doing in plastic?,” I asked.

“That’s a great way to grow it,” he said, coyly smiling. The pot was full of mature rice paddy herb, and he advised me to take it home and put it in a larger pot so it would have room to grow. “Then, find a large plastic bag and put the entire plant in it. Poke a few holes to let air in, and the tie the bag up. You don’t have to water the plant.”

“No water at all?” I asked to double check. We’re being asked to conserve water this year in northern California so I was extra interested. Plus, I’m kind of lazy about watering. 

“No water,” he said, and the sale was made.

The clever method was essentially like making a tiny greenhouse for each pot. As the name suggests, rice paddy herb requires a lot of moisture and heat. In Vietnam’s humidity, particular in the southern region, this herb flourishes.

At home, I opened up the bag and followed his instructions to actually create 3 separate pots of plants to maximize my harvest. The stems fell apart easily for separation and I recycled the pots from the other plants I’d bought for these, filling them up with fresh potting soil. (These pots are the typical quart-size ones you’d find at nurseries. Use bigger pots and you’ll have to find extra large plastic bags!) The clusters of rice paddy herb went in and I gently patted the soil down to make sure they were securely in place.

It was a hot afternoon and I should have done this project in the shade, for after sitting in open air under the sun for just about 15 minutes, the delicate stems wilted. Bent over and looking glum, they didn’t look perky whatsoever. Great. My annual rice paddy herb disaster was manifesting in a new guise.   

Plants, as I’ve found, are pretty resilient so I persevered and put them in their makeshift green house. I used different kinds of plastic bags to see what would happen --  clear plastic produce bags as well as the handled kind you get at checkout. I avoid bags that were completely opaque and those with too much colored lettering. My rationale was based on the large greenhouses I’ve seen on farms. They’re covered with translucent plastic.

Closing the top with rubber bands found in the kitchen, I set the pots aside in full sun. In about 30 minutes, they were all standing upright again. Shazam. Amazing.

Over the course of the next few days, I realized the leaves were getting a bit brown so I moved them into a partial shaded part of the patio. Thus far, they’re growing taller and are alive. As for watering? I haven’t added a single drop.

 

Comments

[Steamy Kitchen]

What will you do with the Ngo Om?

[Andrea Nguyen]

I typically use ngo om (rice paddy herb) for canh chua ca (sour fish soup), which is a southern favorite made with catfish (or ca loc, snakehead fish), tamarind, pineapple, tomato, and bean sprouts. Right at the end, you add some chopped up ngo om and it adds its delicate fragrance and flavor to the hot broth.

But I can't eat that all the time, right? Many Viet cooks in the southern region like to finish their Indian-style curries with this herb. The curries tend to be soupier, when compared to rich, coconut-based Thai curries.

Just the other day, I finely chopped some up and added it to a fresh tomato salsa and guacamole. My thought was that ngo om is basically like a brightly flavored cumin substitute. I'm experimenting since I think I may finally have a bumper crop.

[anh]

omg, so that's the secret to growing ngo om!?! Like you I've tried once before to grow these guys and failed miserably =( I'll give it another try with your tip and hopefully won't have to run to the store for this anymore. Now if only all the other herbs were as easy to grow...

Canh chua is so good in the summer. I've never used ngo om in my guac but I can see how that can work in place of cilantro. What I have tried in the past is a combination of ngo gai and ngo om in my tamarind based stir frys with seafood. Very yummy, especially with oc. Throw in some chilli on top of that and it's usually a winner =)

Thanks for the gardening tip chi Andrea!

[Lucas Jans]

This is a great idea! I live in Bend, Oregon, where the weather is hot in the summer but cold in the winter... and dry all year round. My wife and I are trying to grow some herbs indoors. Using the plastic bag, we might be able to keep the environment humid enough for the plants to flourish.

Where did you end up getting your bags?