Fish mint (diếp cá) ✦

Houttuynie (menthe-poisson)

What it is

The fishy note comes from aldehydes of the decanal family, the same class of compounds that gives fresh fish its smell — the plant is genuinely making a fish aroma, not merely suggesting one. In Japan the identical species is called dokudami, poison-blocker, and is dried for tea rather than eaten raw: one country’s salad leaf is another’s medicine cabinet.

In the kitchen

Serve it raw and cold only; heat blooms the aroma into something closer to a fish market and there is no walking it back. Give every leaf acid alongside — lime, the vinegar in nuoc cham — which cuts the metallic edge and lets the citrus through.

Goes with

Rice paper (bánh tráng) Fish sauce Lime Peanut Pork belly Chili pepper Vietnamese coriander

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