Inga has a habit of buying herbs she cannot identify, taking them home, and working out afterwards what they are and what to do with them. Vietnam is the best possible country for that habit. The markets are full of things that look vaguely familiar and taste like nothing you have had.
These are the five she kept going back for over three months.
Vietnamese balm, kinh gioi
The first one she bought, in Ho Chi Minh City, on the grounds that it looked like a raspberry leaf. It gives off nothing at all until you chop it, and then it turns sharply lemony. Goes in salads and on top of noodles.
Vietnamese coriander, rau ram
Nothing to do with coriander despite the name. Narrow pointed leaves, often with a dark chevron on them, and a taste that starts citrus and ends with real heat at the back of the mouth. This is the one in the herb plate next to a bowl of pho.
Sawtooth herb, ngo gai
Long serrated leaves that look like they would be tough and are not. Tastes like coriander turned up, stronger and more bitter, and it holds up in hot soup where soft coriander collapses.
Perilla, tia to
The pretty one: green on top, deep purple underneath. Tastes of mint and anise together with something almost medicinal behind it. Eaten raw with grilled meat and wrapped around things.
Rice paddy herb, ngo om
Soft, pale, slightly furry leaves that smell of cumin and lemon at the same time. It goes into sour soups, and once you have had it in one you notice its absence immediately.
How to buy them
Point, buy a bunch, take it home. They cost almost nothing, they are sold everywhere, and the worst case is that you do not like one. Photograph the bunch before you chop it, because that is what lets you find out what it was.
More from the country is in everywhere we have been in Vietnam.