Polygonum odoratum

Vietnamese coriander
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Polygonaceae
Genus:	Persicaria
Species:	P. odorata
Binomial name
Persicaria odorata (Lour.) Soják 1974
Synonyms
Polygonum odoratum Lour. 1790

Polygonum odoratum Lour. 1790

Persicaria odorata, the Vietnamese coriander, is an herb whose leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking. Other English names for the herb include Vietnamese mint, Vietnamese cilantro, Cambodian mint, hot mint, laksa leaf, and praew leaf.

It is neither related to the mints, nor is it in the mint family Lamiaceae but the general appearance and odor are reminiscent of them. Persicaria is in the family Polygonaceae, collectively known as smartweeds or pinkweeds.

Above all, the leaf is identified with Vietnamese cuisine, where it is commonly eaten fresh in salads (including chicken salad) and in raw gỏi cuốn, as well as in some soups such as canh chua and bún thang, and stews, such as fish kho tộ. It is also popularly eaten with hột vịt lộn (fertilized duck egg).

In the cuisine of Cambodia, the leaf is known as chi krasang tomhom (ជីរក្រសាំងទំហំ) and is used in soups, stews, salads, and the Cambodian summer rolls, naem (ណែម).

In Singapore and Malaysia, the shredded leaf is an essential ingredient of laksa, a spicy noodle soup, so much so that the Malay name daun laksa means "laksa leaf". In Malaysia the leaf is also used for the dishes nasi kerabu and asam pedas.

In Laos and certain parts of Thailand, the leaf is eaten with raw beef larb (Lao: ລາບ).

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Wikipedia