Thai stock a versatile way to use up cilantro

Thai stock a versatile way to use up cilantro

Every inch of the cilantro plant is edible, but the seeds (aka coriander) and leaves get most of the attention. At the farmers market the other day I spotted a bunch of cilantro with the roots still attached. I brought a bunch of those intact plants home and ate the leaves in tacos that very night.

Cilantro roots are mellower than the leaves and seeds, but still have that unmistakable penetrating cilantro flavor. The next day, based on a tip from the cilantro root vendor, I prepared a pot of Thai stock.

Cilantro parts abound in Thai cuisine. The strong flavor is often balanced with equally assertive ingredients, which together make the cilantro’s flavor less glaring.

But not everyone is on board. Many find cilantro to taste soapy or worse. Julia Child famously boasted of plucking cilantro leaves from her food and unceremoniously tossing them on the floor. A minority of cilantro-haters are truly genetically averse to it, reacting to the aldehyde molecules that give the plant its unique flavor.

But most cilantro haters simply haven’t had the proper introduction necessary to acquire a taste for it. A trip to Thailand would probably cure that, but a pot of this magical Thai stock is a more accessible alternative, providing you can get the ingredients. My local store has all of them except cilantro root, and any farmer or gardener with cilantro in the ground has loads of that.

Like any stock, Thai stock can be the gateway to many dishes. It’s only a few ingredients shy of Tom yum, the iconic sour soup that is often served with prawns. It’s also the base of the legendary chicken coconut soup called Tom kha gai.

The next time you look at a bunch of cilantro, you will look longingly at the spot where the roots should be. If you plant a crop of cilantro now, you will have roots in a month, and can eat some leaves while you wait.