Mint Leaves or Sa-ra-nae in Thai

The fresh leaves of this herbaceous plant are used as a flavouring and eaten raw in Thai cuisine. Volatile oil contents give the plant several therapeutic uses, including carminative, mild antiseptic, local anesthetic, diaphoretic and digestant properties.

Shallots or Hom,Hom-lek,Hom-daeng in Thai

Shallots, or small red onions, are annual herbaceous plants. Underground bulbs comprise garlic-like cloves. Shallot bulbs contain a volatile oil, and are used as flavouring or seasoning agents. Therapeutic properties include the alleviation of stomach discomfort, and as an antihelmintic, antidiarrhoeal, expectorant, antitussive, diuretic and anti flu agents.

Thai shallots have a lovely pinkish purple color and are used extensively in Thai cuisine instead of onions, usually used in Thai Salad menu such as Thai vermicelli Salad with Prawns [Yum Woon Sen].

Garlic or Kra-thiam in Thai

Garlic is an annual herbaceous plant with underground bulbs comprising several cloves. Dried mature bulbs are used as a flavouring and condiment in Thai cuisine. The bulbs contain a 0.1-0.36% garlic oil and organic sulfur compounds. Therapeutic uses are as an antimicrobial, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, anti flatulence and cholesterol lowering agents.

Garlic is indispensable in Thai cooking. Heads of the Asian variety are quite small. Look out for fresh shiny heads of garlic with no soft, dusty or moldy cloves. Jars of pickled garlic can be bought from Oriental stores. It is main ingredient of many thai recipes such as Fried Fish with Tamarind Sauce [Pla Rad Prik], etc.

Lemon Basil or Maeng-lak in Thai

Lemon basil has a light green stem and light green leaves. It has a lemony flavor and is used in soups, salads, and curries.

Lemon Basil is an annual herbaceous plant with slightly hairy and pale green leaves, eaten either raw or used as a flavouring, and containing approximately 0.7% volatile oil. Therapeutic benefits include the alleviation of cough symptoms, and as diaphoretic and carminative agents.

Bai horapa is the most popular. It has small, dark leaves with reddish-purple stems and flowers. Its flavor is reminiscent of aniseed and somewhat stronger than that of the western sweet basil. It is mainly used in many thai recipes such as Green Curry with Chicken [Kang Kaew Wan Kai], Stir-Fried Clams with Roasted Chili Paste [Hoy Lai Pad Num Prik Prao].

Sweet Basil – they say this is perfect for pesto but I prefer using Thai Basil because of its stronger flavor. What I like about Sweet Basil is it’s color. It gives the pasta a very bright green color. Almost looking like you used green food coloring.

Holy basil has a hot flavor and slightly medicinal. It has a purple stem and purple leaves, usually used in stir-fried menu such as  Stir-Fried Chicken with holy basil leaves (Pad Krapao Gai).

Holy Basil. This is a rather fragrant variety with variegated leaves which is grown around temples in India. It suits very humid areas and can be grown as a border though it gets about 40 to 50 cm tall.