Thai basil is wonderful eaten raw, slivered, and added to salads, both your plain old cucumber-tomato salad or something meaty like northern Thai larb. But its hardy leaves stand up especially well to cooking—their flavor infuses readily into food and the leaves don’t wilt quite as much as Italian sweet basil’s would.
What can I use my Thai basil for?
Fresh sprigs of Thai basil can be served with vegetable platters and nibbled on with spicy salads and chili dips. It can also be used in salads, vegetable dishes, or as a popular garnish for soup.
Can you use Thai basil like regular basil?
Can you substitute Thai basil for sweet basil? Not really. The strong anise flavor of Thai basil makes it incomparable to sweet basil in terms of flavor.
How do you preserve Thai basil?
You can freeze it in ice cube trays or in a freezer bag. Another option is to store it with some olive oil. You can also dry it, but you’ll need to do this in a food dehydrator. If you’re growing your own Thai basil, you can also preserve it by harvesting the basil plants and hanging them upside down to dry.
How do you use Thai basil in cooking?
How is Thai basil used? Unlike sweet basil, Thai basil’s sturdy leaves retain structure and flavor even when cooked. That means that it can be added fresh as a garnish, to provide an herbaceous kick, but it can also be added during the cooking process, to infuse the whole dish with its aroma.
What part of Thai basil do you eat?
Are Thai basil flowers edible? The flowers are edible in the sense that they can be used in dishes safely. However, we wouldn’t advise eating them on their own as the texture isn’t the most appealing. Instead, use the flower heads as a garnish.
Does Thai basil grow back every year?
Basil Plants Do Not Come Back Every Year
Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an annual herb in the culinary herb garden. New seeds, plants, or cuttings need to be planted each spring. Basil plants grow from seeds in the spring, produce basil leaves in the summer, and eventually flower and grow seeds as fall approaches.
Does Thai basil taste different than basil?
But setting looks aside, Thai basil is spicy with an anise, or licorice-like flavor, while sweet basil has a more mild peppery and sweet taste (for reference, sweet basil is commonly used as a main ingredient in Genovese-style pesto).
Is Thai basil good in spaghetti sauce?
Most grocery store sell it by the bunch for about a buck. I prefer its flavor to that of Italian basil and use it exclusively in my cooking. It goes into my marinara sauce, along with a couple of Thai chilis and anywhere else I would use basil. It has a sharper mintier bite that really shines through in a dish.
Is Thai basil stronger than regular basil?
What is Thai basil? Thai basil is a type of basil that originates in Southeast Asia. It’s got a stronger flavor than that of it’s sweet basil cousin with more of an anise flavor.
What do you do with an abundance of basil?
How to Use Basil
- Top whole leaves onto pizza.
- Finish pasta with whole or thinly sliced leaves.
- Blend it into sauces.
- Puree it into soups.
- Chop it up to add to a salad.
- Use it to garnish avocado toast.
- Turn it into an ice cream topping! Jazz up vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries, basil, and a balsamic reduction.
Should I dry Thai basil?
Thai basil adds a great base flavor for Asian dishes on the trail, but won’t last long without refrigeration. Dehydrated Thai basil can be crumbled up and used in meals like the fresh variety. It’s easier to dehydrate the entire basil stem, then pull off all the leaves when it’s dry.
Can I dry fresh Thai basil?
Yes, you can air-dry basil! The best way to do this is to wash the basil leaves, dry them with a towel, and then tie them up using their stems. Then, hang them in a cool, dry place (ideally high in your kitchen). It’ll take 4 to 5 weeks to fully air-dry though!
Does Thai basil taste like mint?
Thai basil has a licorice taste missing in mint and it is not as versatile as mint in tea. However, Thai basil is way more used than mint in a large variety of recipes.
Do you let Thai basil flower?
You can either pinch your Thai basil to prevent flowering and harvest the leaves or let the plants flower and use the flowers as a garnish, for cut flower arrangements, or for vinegar.
Can you use Thai basil for tea?
Thai basil has a lot to deliver when it comes to flavor. Its unique and powerful aroma can really heighten a dish’s flavor. Not to mention, it can be used for so many recipes, from stir fry to tea.
Can you use Thai basil after it blooms?
Basil flowers are perfectly edible. In terms of fragrance and flavor, the flowers are similar, if milder, than the leaves. Sometimes, flowers can be somewhat bitter, so test them first. When sprinkled over a salad, basil flowers impart a mild basil flavor and add a decorative touch.
What is the lifespan of Thai basil?
While sweet basil is an annual herb that only lasts for one growing season, Thai basil is a perennial herb that can keep growing for two to three years.
How do you harvest Thai basil so it keeps growing?
Remove no more than a third of the plant’s total height at a time so that you’ll be able to harvest more newly developed basil leaves in two to three weeks. To encourage your basil plant to continue growing more leaves throughout the summer, trim away the flower buds before they blossom.
Can Thai basil survive winter?
Basil plants are very sensitive to cold temperatures. They thrive in conditions between 72-85°F. During winter months, keep them away from drafty windows or frequently opened doors that let in cold air. Even a short dip down to 50°F will impede growth for a length of time afterward.
Is Thai basil toxic to dogs?
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), basil is non-toxic to dogs (and cats, as well). This includes all plants under the scientific name Ocimum basilicum, such as sweet basil, Thai basil, and Saint Joseph’s wort.