Marilyn Wightman highlights how to grow herbs that will heighten Asian recipes.
Here is just a small selection of the tasty herbs used in Asian cooking. They all grow in New Zealand and are readily available as plants and seeds. They are used fresh to add spice and flavour to food.
Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
This annual is best planted in autumn and winter, which is the trick to stopping it heading straight up to seed. As with many tropical herbs, coriander needs a humid, wet summer and cooler, dry winter – the complete opposite to our dry summer and wet winter climate. Fortunately, it does not mind our winter cold and wet at all and will get to 30cm high and wide with plenty of fresh leaf to pluck and use.
For summer cooking, scatter seed in a shallow bowl filled with potting mix and grow coriander as mesclun. Harvest the seedlings to provide that unique flavour popular for salads, marinades and stir-fry dishes.
Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)
Growing over 1m high in New Zealand’s temperate climate, this tropical grass thrives in the far north and in a frost-free area. Plant it straight into the garden. Choose a wind-free, sheltered spot with maximum sun to ensure lemon grass does well. Both the leaf and base are used in cooking.
For gardeners outside of Northland and the Coromandel wanting a continuous supply of lemon grass, try growing it in containers. By bringing it inside for the cooler winter months, then putting it outside over summer, good healthy plants can be grown all year round. Potted lemon grass needs resizing to bigger containers annually. Placed in a greenhouse or conservatory, the herb adds visual interest, with its upright, flax-like growth.
Chilli (Capsicum annuum varieties)
Part of the same family as mild-flavoured peppers, the chilli is regarded as a pungent, incendiary spice because of its capsaicin content. The seed contains the most capsaicin, so remove these for a milder cooking flavour. Grow chilli from seed and experiment to find which flavour is best liked.
Started in spring, seedlings will produce fruit in summer. These can be used or dried for year-round flavouring.
Chilli likes sun and shelter from wind, growing well in containers, too.
Rice paddy herb (Limnophila aromatica)
This semi-aquatic herb grows naturally on the perimeters of rice paddies in Asia and India, hence its common name. If you have a pond, the herb can be planted on the water’s edge, where it will happily thrive. Rice paddy herb needs good, well-fertilised soil and full sun or dappled shade. It is frost tender.
For those with no pond or damp area handy, consider growing it in a container sat in a saucer of water.
Use it fresh in salads as a tasty garnish.
Mitsuba (Cryptotaenia canadensis)
Growing naturally in quite a few countries around the world, mitsuba is most often used in Japanese cuisine. It belongs to the same family as parsley, so has similar growth patterns. Mitsuba has adapted well to the New Zealand climate and, being a perennial, is not inclined to bolt or go straight to seed like its cousinly annuals coriander, dill and chervil.
Grown from seed in spring, mitsuba (pronounced mitt-sue-bar) can easily be transplanted to the garden when small. Its green, divided, three-lobed leaves grow to 10cm long over summer. The herb will consistently shoot up flower spikes, which are best kept trimmed to encourage leafy growth. Left to develop, the flower spike quickly gets to 80cm high and tiny white flowers form on the spindly umbels. These drop seed and set a new generation of mitsuba seedlings, ensuring a continuous supply of tasty, green leaf all year round.
As mitsuba grows well in shade, a colony will carpet an area, making it a great groundcover plant for shady corners. It grows in full sun as well, but tends to prefer part shade and dappled light. Frost does not deter it in winter, though growth will slow with cooler weather.
Use in stir-fries, soups and as a garnish.
Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix)
A member of the citrus family, the whole kaffir lime plant has a deliciously unique, aromatic flavour. Traditionally, it is utilised in green-curry recipes. The leaf grows in a figure-eight configuration, making it handy to pluck just half a leaf or a whole one. Use the leaf fresh or add to any stir-fry or casserole.
Kaffir limes have a habit of growing elongated, horizontal branches that, unfortunately, also have sharp thorns.
In cold and frosty areas, they will grow readily in containers.
