Having to replenish my Vietnamese herb garden after the gopher attack a couple weeks ago, I visited my favorite Vietnamese market in San Jose, California, Thien Thanh (located on the corner of Keyes and Story Road). There's always a bunch of starters on sale at the door of market this time of year. A friendly store employee or two stays outside to keep an eye on customers and things happening in the tiny parking lot.
It was blazing hot and the shady overhang of the market entrance was a welcome respite from the heat, particularly when I see lush quart-size pots of tía tô (red perilla), kinh giới (Vietnamese balm), húng (mint), rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), and various kinds of ớt (chiles). A man and woman surrounded me and honed in on making a sale. I was looking for just a pot of kinh giới and a chile plant but walked away with unexpectedly more.
Every year for the past 5 years, I've tried growing ngò om (Limnophila aromatica) and was unsuccessful at
getting the sweet tender stems of the citrusy, cumin-y herb to flourish. It
never grew much and would just poop out, no matter how much watering and feeding
I did. This year, I vowed not to get one. Using dried cumin, just like my mom
taught me, was good enough for finishing my canh chua cá (Vietnamese sour fish
soup with tamarind, pineapple, and okra). Many southern Viet cooks who love
this herb also finish curries with it.
pots covered in sweaty plastic. The man and woman informed me that it was ngò
om. “Huh? What was it doing in plastic?,” I asked.
“That’s a great way to grow it,” he said, coyly smiling. The
pot was full of mature rice paddy herb, and he advised me to take it home and
put it in a larger pot so it would have room to grow. “Then, find a large
plastic bag and put the entire plant in it. Poke a few holes to let air in, and
the tie the bag up. You don’t have to water the plant.”
“No water at all?” I asked to double check. We’re being
asked to conserve water this year in northern
“No water,” he said, and the sale was made.
The clever method was essentially like making a tiny
greenhouse for each pot. As the name suggests, rice paddy herb requires a lot
of moisture and heat. In Vietnam’s
humidity, particular in the southern region, this herb flourishes.
At home, I opened up the bag and followed his instructions
to actually create 3 separate pots of plants to maximize my harvest. The stems
fell apart easily for separation and I recycled the pots from the other plants
I’d bought for these, filling them up with fresh potting soil. (These pots are the
typical quart-size ones you’d find at nurseries. Use bigger pots and you’ll
have to find extra large plastic bags!) The clusters of rice paddy herb went in
and I gently patted the soil down to make sure they were securely in place.
It was a hot afternoon and I should have done this project
in the shade, for after sitting in open air under the sun for just about 15
minutes, the delicate stems wilted. Bent over and looking glum, they didn’t
look perky whatsoever. Great. My annual rice paddy herb disaster was manifesting
in a new guise.
Plants, as I’ve found, are pretty resilient so I persevered and
put them in their makeshift green house. I used different kinds of plastic bags
to see what would happen -- clear
plastic produce bags as well as the handled kind you get at checkout. I avoid
bags that were completely opaque and those with too much colored lettering. My
rationale was based on the large greenhouses I’ve seen on farms. They’re
covered with translucent plastic.
Closing the top with rubber bands found in the kitchen, I
set the pots aside in full sun. In about 30 minutes, they were all standing
upright again. Shazam. Amazing.
Over the course of the next few days, I realized the leaves
were getting a bit brown so I moved them into a partial shaded part of the
patio. Thus far, they’re growing taller and are alive. As for watering? I haven’t
added a single drop.
Steamy Kitchen says
What will you do with the Ngo Om?
Andrea Nguyen says
I typically use ngo om (rice paddy herb) for canh chua ca (sour fish soup), which is a southern favorite made with catfish (or ca loc, snakehead fish), tamarind, pineapple, tomato, and bean sprouts. Right at the end, you add some chopped up ngo om and it adds its delicate fragrance and flavor to the hot broth.
But I can't eat that all the time, right? Many Viet cooks in the southern region like to finish their Indian-style curries with this herb. The curries tend to be soupier, when compared to
anh says
omg, so that's the secret to growing ngo om!?! Like you I've tried once before to grow these guys and failed miserably =( I'll give it another try with your tip and hopefully won't have to run to the store for this anymore. Now if only all the other herbs were as easy to grow...
Canh chua is so good in the summer. I've never used ngo om in my guac but I can see how that can work in place of cilantro. What I have tried in the past is a combination of ngo gai and ngo om in my tamarind based st
Lucas Jans says
This is a great idea! I live in Bend, Oregon, where the weather is hot in the summer but cold in the winter... and dry all year round. My wife and I are trying to grow some herbs indoors. Using the plastic bag, we might be able to keep the environment humid enough for the plants to flourish.
Where did you end up getting your bags?
Andrea Nguyen says
Lucas, the bags were just your plastic bags you'd use for bagging up vegetables from the grocery store, farmer's market, ect. Seemed like the longer ones worked better. Just remember to poke holes in them.
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Emily Chau says
Hi,
Thanks for the article. On ngo om's cousin : ngo` gai, do you know how to plant (and keep it alive)?
Andrea Nguyen says
Emily, ngo gai can be grown from seed. It needs a lot of heat and apparently can be like a weed. It's called culantro and you can get seed sources from this page:
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/06/growing_vietnam.html
Tim Adam says
rice paddy herb or the popular Ngo Om is a good choice for your mini garden at home. You will never experience any difficulty planting and growing it. You can immediately get great benefits from it after few months. Start growing rice paddy herb by getting tips from http://www.herbgardeningplace.com/grow-herbs-indoors/ . This is a good website devoted to herb gardening.
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hien says
hello Andrea, right after transplanting to smaller pots, did you need to water a bit? none?
thank you
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loki-dog says
I've been successful growing this herb in small water gardens. They don't like direct sun though. Seem to tolerate the cool nights here in northern Utah too. It grows just fine without any connection to the bottom, but it's best rooted and grown in pots set in the water. I've grow it among water spinach and it likes the partial shade. Here it's sunny nearly every day, all day, with high UV, so in other areas it may be better in fuller sun situations. Also, it's very dry here, and it may be t
Giang Dang says
Great .. I will try it in Atlanta Georgia where I'm living now. I was unsuccessful in San Jose Northern California. Hope I can make it this time. Thanks for sharing !
Andrea Nguyen says
Head to Buford Highway to the big market there. You'll be able to get super fresh ngo om there!