Uses for Rice Paddy Herb (Ngo Om)

Suddenly I'm flushed with lots of rice paddy herb (ngo om, pronounced "n-gaw om") due to the nifty new growing tip I got recently. In the Vietnamese Kitchen, the classic use for this herb is in sour fish soup with tamarind, tomato, and okra. After reading the post on how to create makeshift greenhouses for the plants, several people asked what other uses there are for the citrusy-cuminy little darling.

My suggestion is to chop up the tender sprigs and use them to finish any kind of dish where you'd normally have cumin. In a curry that employs Madras curry powder and coconut milk, I found that a bit of rice paddy herb contributed a refreshing endnote. At a Viet restaurant in San Jose, I noticed that they added ngo om at the last minute to a braised dish featuring eel and turmeric.

Thinking out of the Viet box, I recently experimented with adding finely chopped ngo om to guacamole, a yogurt-based salad dressing, as well as a raita (Indian yogurt-based sauce).  In these cases, the herb worked just fine. I just had this thought -- that rice paddy herb would probably be nice paired with legumes too, perhaps stirred into black beans right before serving or added to a vinaigrette to season cooked white beans or lentils, which would make a great summer salad or as a bed for panseared fish or scallop. A baba ghanoush-style roasted eggplant mash would get a nice lift from rice paddy herb.

So when you're cooking Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese food, think of rice paddy herb as a refreshing substitute for cumin (or enhancer of cumin's earthiness), a friend of turmeric, or just lovely on its own as a delicate seasoning. It's best chopped up since it's slender long stems are pretty to look at but awkward to chew. Whatever you do, DO NOT cook ngo om. Use it raw so you capture its essence well.

If you've got suggestions, share them with the rest of us!

Comments

[Simon Bao]

Andrea, I like it when people think outside of the box, and find non-Vietnamese applications for traditional Vietnamese ingredients. Such as using Ngo Om in the dishes you mention above. Similar experiments and innovations are happening with non-Viet cooks using garlic chives, lemongrass, Tio To, Vietnamese "anise" basil, star anise, etc. Vietnamese cuisine is probably partly responsible for so many people now using cilantro in everything.

It's fun and interesting, and sometimes rewarding, to throw the process into reverse and find Vietnamese applications for Western ingredients. In some Viet dishes, European chives make a fantastic alternative garnish for chopped scallions. Chervil isn't a substitute for anything, but it is a great last minute addition to Bo Kho or Pho or any dish featuring star anise. Chervil just tastes like it should accompany star anise. Finely chopped tarragon is also a great addition, especially to any kind of salad. And fresh parsley is good just about anywhere. I haven't yet discovered any Vietnamese uses for oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, or file powder, and I'm 99% sure I never will, but some experiments have been rewarding.

I'm not quite as bold when it comes to messing around with staple ingredients, but adding parsnips to the carrots in Bo Kho has been one of the successful experiments... :-)

[Grow Tent]

@ Simon, its really interseting to have a viet being quiet creative about a non-vietnamese western ingredients.Can you put up a recipe for such mile, I will definitely give it a trial.

[julis sujai]

Gardening is my life. I'm an agler, not a fighter.

[Home Greenhouses]

Well, I certainly can't find rice paddy herbs anywhere locally and now one seems to be able to order it. Perhaps it's available on line... sure would like to try this as I do love cumin but an alternate is always a little more interestin. Thanks for the article

All the best,
Chris