A Taste of the Orient (Coriander)

Member Name: queen_rain

Product:	Coriander
Date:	23/01/05 (1465 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: strong flavour, eat cooked or raw, good for curries

Disadvantages: one can grow tired of it

People love coriander, or they hate it. I used to be a lover, until I went to live in the far northeast of China. The fresh-food choice there for most of the year was between Cabbage Cooked With Coriander, and Coriander Cooked With Cabbage.

I have not been able to rouse much enthusiasm for either cabbage or coriander since though I still like a bit of it in Indian curry.

Neverthelss, it's a great herb. Above all, coriander is versatile.

HOW TO EAT IT

Coriander can be used raw in salads, or cooked in stews or soups. The herb goes particularly well with all kinds of tomato dishes, olive oil, and fish, and it complements many ethnic cuisines. It's an essential ingredient for many Indian and Thai curries and dahls, as well as for South and Central American dishes, and for the food of, ahem, Northeast China (allegedly there are 26 different varieties of cabbage grown in the Jilin province where I lived, but after some months, they tasted all the same; even with coriander added).

You don't need to cook it: just snip it fresh into salads or into hot dishes which are already cooked.

For the more organised cooks among you, consider freezing the leaves, either in ice cubes (on their own, or mixed with other herbs), or in butter.


HOW TO GROW IT

Don't go to a plant nursery or garden centre to buy a coriander plant (Coriandrum sativum).

Don't bother with all the fuss of growing coriander from seed, either.

Instead, buy it from the supermarket.

I'm not joking... the best plants can be found at the big supermarkets and food stores, such as Sainsbury's. In their fresh produce section, they have little pots of living herbs. These are great! They cost a fraction of what you'd pay for in the garden centres, and in my experience, the plants are stronger and healthier. Besides, the coriander variety sold by supermarkets is usually 'Cilantro', the most flavoursome one.

When you get home, give the plants a good soak with water. Then, slap the bottom of the pot until the plants come out. You'll find there are actually several coriander plants in that little pot, with very little soil. To grow them on, they need more space and compost.

Fill flowerpots (or plastic yoghurt pots with a whole cut in the bottom) with compost (ordinary multi-purpose compost will do), stick one plant into each pot. Press the soil around it down until it's firm. Give it some more water, and place it on the window sill, if possible with some kind of saucer under the pot, so collect excess water.

The plants will look tired for the first day or two, but so will you after moving house. ;-)

It is inevitable that some of the plants will die; that's simply because coriander is one of the plants that don't transplant well. However, most plants will recover, grow, spread to fill the pot, and supply you with nice fresh coriander. Keep the soil just slightly moist.

You can also plant the coriander into your herb garden; however, for this you have to wait until the frosty season is over.

In the garden, the plants may grow up to 1 meter tall; in pots they are likely to remain about 20cm high.

If coriander likes it in your garden, it will self-sow and spread. Rather than leaving it to chance, you can also collect the ripe seeds for sowing in spring. The seeds also make a spicy addition to potpourris.

PS .... I decided against posting a Chinese recipe for Cabbage Cooked with Coriander.'

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