Lemon basil
레몬 바질
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Photo: Vitaium · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original file (Wikimedia Commons)
A curious herb: basil that smells of lemon. It's a hybrid of common basil and American basil. Soaked in water, its seeds swell up like frog spawn, and they're sometimes added to drinks.
Flavor and aroma
- It has a basil aroma with a clean, fresh lemon scent (from citral).
Fun facts
- In Thai it's maenglak. Of the three Thai basils (Thai basil, holy basil and lemon basil), it's the least commonly used.
- Soaked in water, the seeds develop a jelly-like coating like frog spawn.
- In Indonesia it's called kemangi, and in Cebu, the Philippines, sangig.
In the kitchen
Cooking
- Add it to Thai curries and seafood stir-fries.
Soups
- Add it to law-uy, a Filipino vegetable soup.
Noodles
- It's essential in khanom chin nam ya, Thai rice noodles with fish curry poured over.
Other ideas
- Use it in iced tea, herb vinegar, pesto and salads.
Goes well with
FishSeafoodCoconut milkRice noodlesLime
Season
We're still checking the season. We'll add it once we find a source.
Details
- Korean name
- 레몬 바질
- English names
- lemon basil, Thai lemon basil, Lao basil
- Scientific name
- Ocimum × africanum
- Former scientific names
- Ocimum × citriodorum
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Genus
- Ocimum
- Other names and notes
- Thai: maenglak
Show sources for this page
References for this herb
- Wikipedia(Lemon basil, Thai basil)
- NParks(싱가포르 국립공원청)
- Adaptive Seeds
Name and classification
Photo
Vitaium · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original file (Wikimedia Commons)