Coriander Root in Thai Cooking

Thai cooks use the whole coriander plant: leaves to garnish, stems in soups and salads, and roots, the most prized part, in pastes and marinades. The roots have a deeper, earthier flavour than the leaves, and unlike the leaves, they keep their taste when cooked.

Pronunciation	raak pak chee
Flavour	Earthy, deep coriander flavour, peppery
Used in	Curry pastes, marinades, soups, sam gler paste
Substitute	Coriander stems, about twice the amount

Sam gler: the “three companions”

The most important use of coriander root is sam gler, a paste of coriander root, garlic and white peppercorns pounded together in roughly equal amounts. It is the starting point of countless Thai dishes: rubbed onto chicken for gai yang, mixed into minced pork for meatballs and stuffed omelettes, fried at the start of clear soups (gaeng jued), and stirred into marinades for grilled and fried pork.

Other uses

It is pounded into green curry paste and other pastes, added whole and bruised to broths, and used in dipping sauces such as nam jim seafood.

Buying and storing

Supermarket coriander usually has its roots cut off; look for bunches with roots in Asian grocers or at markets, or grow your own. Scrub the roots well with a small brush, as soil hides between the hairs. Roots freeze very well: every time you use the leaves, cut off the roots, clean them and add them to a bag in the freezer.

Cook’s tip
Make a jar of sam gler paste on the weekend: equal weights of coriander root and garlic, a quarter as much white pepper, pounded with a pinch of salt. It keeps for a week in the fridge and starts dozens of dishes.

Recipes with Coriander Root