Saturday, August 20, 2011

Today's Tidbit - Thai Basil

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Thai Basil has to be one of my favorite Asian herbs second only to cilantro. I try to use it as much as I can in my cooking. It has a has a fairly pungent licorice flavor that hold up well when cooked. I use it in stir-fries, soups, cold noodle dishes and salads.

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Thai basil grows well under the same conditions as sweet basil, though I find it a bit less temperamental than the latter. I pinch back the flower buds when they appear to keep the plants nice and bushy.

11 comments:

  1. what lovely basil! I have never tried Thai Basil. SOunds great.

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  2. Wow, yours look so much better than mine. I think it's too much intense sunlight here in Boise. My plants never get taller than about 8 inches.

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  3. It's one of my favorites in the herb garden.

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  4. Love mine, too. It's so big, now. I find it tolerates some shade well, too. Bees adore it, but I've also been pinching :-)

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  5. Your Thai basil are very lush and healthy. It has a very strong fragrance isn't it. When touching it the smell lingers on the hands for some time. Bees in our garden enjoy their blossoms very much too.

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  6. What a pretty plant and it's so nice to get some ideas for how to use it. I like trying to grow veggies and herbs from other parts of the world! Today, I made some southeast Asian style hot pepper relish and sauce. I'm not sure how authentic it is, but it really tastes good!

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  7. I just discovered Thai basil. I never liked the other basil all my Italian friends rave about. Thai basil is so different, so fragrant and delicate. I've used it a lot in summer salads with peaches and a blood orange olive oil/wine vinegar dressing really good. Then yesterday we had bbq and I chopped chunks of watermelon up and threw in small pieces of Thai basil. We pressed the watermelon pieces into the basil and it added a whole new taste experience. Super good.

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  8. love em in rice noodle soup esp :)

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  9. I grow Italian Basil and last year was a total bust because of the new powdery mildew that was infecting basil everywhere. I even grew mine from seed to try and avoid it and they got infected.
    But not this year! Oh my goodness. I used a blanching technique to keep my basil green while in the freezer. I'll post my results later.

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  10. I have Thai Basil seeds but never sowed them this year. Next year for sure.

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  11. that thai basil looks great. basil is one of my favorite herb too. this yr, i had one kind of basil,now it is flowering, i'm trying to get seed for next yr.
    Your's look so pretty in color, i need to find thai basil now. thanks for sharing your garden life.

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