Cilantro

[bhchao]

Among the foods in the world, cilantro seems to be a polarizing vegetable. Many people love it and many people hate it with a passion. Personally I love cilantro. Before I used to avoid it because it tasted like chemicals. But now I eat it as a complement to dishes without hesitation.

[Ann]

we use cilantro a lot in Taiwanese food, even add it to ice cream....

[liuzhou]

There was an interesting article in the Guardian about this just the other day. See here.

(Note in British English, 'coriander' is used to refer to all parts of the plant - seeds and leaves.)

I miss the deep fried coriander I used to snack on in Hunan many years ago.

[skylee]

indeed it is coriander ...

[jbradfor]

I'm OK with it. I won't pick it out of salads or other dishes, but I won't go out of my way to eat it either.

I actually had no idea coriander and cilantro were related! I like coriander much more.

[anonymoose]

I don't mind it, but I'm not a huge fan either.

[James Johnston]

Not much beats fresh young coriander leaves in a hotpot. I'm sceptical about the Guardian article saying some people find coriander leaves soapy. Coriander leaves are definitely soapy if they're too old, and by old I don't mean not fresh, but harvested as the plant is approaching seeding. Coriander is an annual plant, which flowers and produces seeds before dying. As it approaches seeding it becomes increasingly soapy and pretty horrible.

[liuzhou]

  Coriander and Cilantro aren't just related! They are the same plant. 

British English = Coriander (both the leaves and the seeds)

American English = Cilantro (leaves only); Coriander (seeds only).

By the way is there any other herb or plant where the seeds and leaves have different names?

[jbradfor]

Leaves and seeds are not the same thing to me. At least, I hope that whoever makes rhubarb pie doesn't think stalks and leaves are the same....

[abcdefg]

I'm used to asking for and buying fresh cilantro (leaves and stems; not dried coriander seeds) in the wet markets of Kunming as 香菜。When just now looking it up, I find MDBG gives 胡荽叶.

Does anyone know if this involves a "regionalism" or whether perhaps 胡荽叶 is just a more formally correct, "botanical" name for the same thing that in 口语 is 香菜？

[anonymoose]

whoever makes rhubarb

That made me think, I guess most Chinese people don't know what rhubarb is. And gooseberries also.

[James Johnston]

And gooseberries also.

Ignorance is bliss.

[aristotle1990]

That made me think, I guess most Chinese people don't know what rhubarb is. And gooseberries also.

I had delicious 大黄 with sugar in Inner Mongolia once.

[realmayo]

Leaves and seeds are not the same thing to me

No one said they were. They have similar, though different, tastes. I think the point was that in British English the word cilantro is not used, only the word coriander is used.

Do Chinese people cook with the seeds?

[liuzhou]

As far as I can make out, no, the Chinese do not cook with the seeds. I had great difficulty buying any. The only people who sold them were seed merchants selling to farmers, but I had to buy a minimum quantity which would satisfy the culinary requirements of an average sized city for a few years.

Finally, in one market, I found someone willing to sell me a kilo. I then had to make sure that I was buying the seeds in their natural state. Most are treated with insecticides and germination enhancing chemicals which I do not want in my dinner, thank you very much. I am still working my way through the kilo I bought three years ago.

[flameproof]

The only people who sold them were seed merchants selling to farmers, but I had to buy a minimum quantity which would satisfy the culinary requirements of an average sized city for a few years.

Under no circumstances use seed grains for cooking! They are often chemically treated. When I worked on a farm we used a mercury based powder to treat wheat (for seeding purpose). I think it's to prevent mold attacks. It's certainly not for eating.

Indian cooking uses coriander seeds often. When in Hong Kong go to one of the Indian supermarkets in Chunking Mansion - great selection of whatever spice you need there. Seeds and greens have also totally different uses and taste different too.

[liuzhou]

Under no circumstances use seed grains for cooking!

I know! :rolleyes:

As I said, they did stock both treated and untreated seeds. I bought the right ones! I've been using for several years and haven't died ye