What Is It ?

[blue eyes]

Here is a photo of something that we use to cook a few Thai dishes.Do you know what it is? We grow it in our garden.Your best guess.

[suegha]

I'd like to know what this is too!

[blue eyes]

After a few days I will give the answer.It does give a nice "kick" to the dish though.

[crowbait]

Is it Galangal?

[suegha]

Is it Galangal?

I don't think so. Where's Bambi when you need her?

[blue eyes]

I am not a flower anymore.

[SweatySock]

According to the missus, this is "Ang Chan", (not too sure of the spelling.)

[blue eyes]

According to the missus, this is "Ang Chan", (not too sure of the spelling.)

Not sure what "ang chan" is,even asked the wife and she does not know the word.I will post one more photo and I am sure the answer will come.But not today.

[blue eyes]

OK another clue.

I am a cousin of the flower in the orignal photo.

[blue eyes]

Ok it's time.It is kapow.This is the newest one of the garden.I love kapow gai or moo.I'm sure many people do.

[jayenram]

Is that it? Top left?

Missis reckons it's Holy Basil if it is.

[blue eyes]

Yes it is " holy basil".In Thai.....kapow, in english..........holy basil.The Thai will say in their english......hot basil.

[Niloc]

Pad kapow is my favourite street snack, my wife really knows how to cook it. We brought some 'sweet basil' from Australia and it makes it even better!!

I first discovered Pad Kapow in Chiang Rai, I was sitting in a restaurant and something one of the girls was eating looked soo good, I asked and it has been my favourite ever since!

Colin

[Beachbunny]

there are two types of holy basil. red and white. ....although gaprao daeng looks more purple.

I only like gaprao daeng as the white tends to give your tongue a numbing sensation and the red just taste better to me. .............it's not that easy to find though. When we lived in the states that's all we grew.....Finally got some plants here. I think maybe the seeds are easier to find.

Beachbuny

[rice555]

red seed packet on a green plant, sip baht.

rice555

[suegha]

Is it 'kapow' or 'krapow'? With a rua?

[BambinA]

Is it 'kapow' or 'krapow'? With a rua?

From Royal Institute Dict. It is กะเพรา Ka -prow. However, when you google you will find more results of กระเพรา(kra prow) than กะเพรา(ka prow)

Funny yes?

[lampard10]

Yes it is " holy basil".In Thai.....kapow, in english..........holy basil.The Thai will say in their english......hot basil.

What are you on about............holy basil is Horapa, purple stems, slight aniseed taste, used in green curries and varius other dishes. I'll agree your pictures were of ordinary Thai Basil, or Krapow though. I used to sell them both in England along with Sweet Basil.

I'll make my apologies now............it does seem that everyone is right and I am wrong. I guess it was only me that was selling holy basil as horapa.

Edited June 5, 2008 by lampard10

[Somtham]

Yes it is " holy basil".In Thai.....kapow, in english..........holy basil.The Thai will say in their english......hot basil.

What are you on about............holy basil is Horapa, purple stems, slight aniseed taste, used in green curries and varius other dishes. I'll agree your pictures were of ordinary Thai Basil, or Krapow though. I used to sell them both in England along with Sweet Basil.

I'll make my apologies now............it does seem that everyone is right and I am wrong. I guess it was only me that was selling holy basil as horapa.

Agree with you the holy basil is hol®apa in thai. In the US the basil listings are quite confusing. At the nurseries I see:

Holy basil - hol®apa

Thai basil

Sweet basil

Basil

Columnar basil

Any ideas of the Thai names for the last four?

rgds

[blue eyes]

Ok here are three photos of the four basil that we grow.Hot or holy basil is called "kapow" in Thai.It is the all green basil.Thai basil or some people in the US will call sweet basil is called "horapa" in Thai,of course when a Thai say it, it will sound like "holeapaw".It has a mostly green leaf with a purple stem.The basil that is all purple is a Vietnames basil and I do not know the name of it in Thai.It has a very strong anisette flavor.More so then the Thai basil. Another basil that we grow but I have non of right now is lemon basil.In Thai it is called "bai manglag".It tastes like .........what else ,lemon.The leaves are all green and much smaller then the other basils.Hope this clears up the confusion.

[lampard10]

Ok here are three photos of the four basil that we grow.Hot or holy basil is called "kapow" in Thai.It is the all green basil.Thai basil or some people in the US will call sweet basil is called "horapa" in Thai,of course when a Thai say it, it will sound like "holeapaw".It has a mostly green leaf with a purple stem.The basil that is all purple is a Vietnames basil and I do not know the name of it in Thai.It has a very strong anisette flavor.More so then the Thai basil. Another basil that we grow but I have non of right now is lemon basil.In Thai it is called "bai manglag".It tastes like .........what else ,lemon.The leaves are all green and much smaller then the other basils.Hope this clears up the confusion.

Yes.......I googled it and found out I had been misleading my customers in my Thai shop in England for years. I think though that was due to the supplier being unclear as well. ( but then I didn't have a computer in those days)

Edited June 8, 2008 by lampard10

[Somtham]

Ok here are three photos of the four basil that we grow.Hot or holy basil is called "kapow" in Thai.It is the all green basil.Thai basil or some people in the US will call sweet basil is called "horapa" in Thai,of course when a Thai say it, it will sound like "holeapaw".It has a mostly green leaf with a purple stem.The basil that is all purple is a Vietnames basil and I do not know the name of it in Thai.It has a very strong anisette flavor.More so then the Thai basil. Another basil that we grow but I have non of right now is lemon basil.In Thai it is called "bai manglag".It tastes like .........what else ,lemon.The leaves are all green and much smaller then the other basils.Hope this clears up the confusion.

Yes.......I googled it and found out I had been misleading my customers in my Thai shop in England for years. I think though that was due to the supplier being unclear as well. ( but then I didn't have a computer in those days)

I too stand corrected. Found this:

"Similar use is made of basil in the Far East; it is especially popular in Vietnam and Thailand. Every visitor to Bangkok who dared to try local cuisine will probably never forget the phantastic basil aroma that emanates from nearly every pot at the numerous foodstalls. The basic ideas of Thai cookery are revealed in gai pad krapao [ไก่ผัดกะเพรา], chicken with chiles and basil: Despite a searing and truly hellish hotness, the dish provides heavenly pleasures by its subtle basil odour.

Tree basil (O. gratissimum)

When using basil in South East Asian recipes, one should consider that Thai basil tastes rather different from the Mediterranean herb predominantly available in the West. Also, care must be taken to choose the right basil; Thai cuisine is probably the only cuisine that uses three different basil varieties, each for its own purpose. All three basil varieties should be available in Thai food stores.

Thai sweet basil (horapha [โหระพา]) is mild and has a fascinating anise flavour somewhat comparable to tarragon, but more intensive. The flavour will not tolerate prolonged cooking. The herb is often sprinkled over Thai food immediately before serving, and it is very good in hot and sour Thai soups (tom yam [ต้มยำ], see kaffir lime) or curries (gaeng [แกง], see coconut); it should not be boiled but just steeped for a minute or two in the hot foods.

Thai sacred basil (krapao [กะเพรา]) has a pungent taste that is often described as peppery although I find it more like allspice. It is most often used for stir-fries, for example the above-mentioned gai pad bai krapao, as some cooking is necessary to develop its flavour best. I often find that the krapao sold in Asian groceries is of poor quality; obviously, it suffers from the transport. Mostly for that reason, some cooks will often substitute krapao by horapha and change the cooking time accordingly.

There is a third basil variety in Thailand: Thai lemon basil, also known as hoary basil (manglak [แมงลัก]). It has a nice lime flavour and is mostly eaten raw as a garnish; its fresh citrus note goes best with fish. "

at http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Ocim_bas.html

rgds