Húng lìu is a spice mixture of four or five spices found in Vietnamese cuisine.[1] It is named after sweet basil.
Ingredients[edit]
Húng lìu typically consists of four ingredients ground into a fine powder:[1]
- Chinese cinnamon (as opposed to Saigon cinnamon)
- Star anise
- Thảo quả (Amomum tsao-ko)
- Clove
Some recipes call for five ingredients, with the addition of sweet basil seeds.[2]
Less common ingredients may include:[3]
- Fennel
- Ngọc khấu (Myristica fragrans)
- Black pepper
- Zest of Citrus deliciosa Tenore (quýt trần bì or quýt Hương Cần, a willowleaf Mandarin orange)
- Ngò gai seeds (Eryngium foetidum)
Usage[edit]
In northern Vietnam, húng lìu is typically used on roasted foods, such as roasted pig and crunchy coated peanuts (lạc rang húng lìu). Húng lìu and five-spice powder have similar ingredients and can be used interchangeably on meat dishes. Húng lìu differs from the more well-known Cantonese blend in the portions of each ingredient, thus producing a distinct taste.[3]
In the late 1920s, various phở vendors experimented with húng lìu as part of a short-lived "phở cải lương" trend.[4][5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Thanh Nguyên (July 2012). "Phá xang" [Roasted peanuts]. Lớp Học Vui Vẻ (in Vietnamese) (14): 57. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
Húng lìu cũng giống như gia vị ngũ vị hương mà chúng ta thường dùng để nấu thịt, tuy nhiên húng lìu thông thường có 4 vị là: quế, hồi, thảo quả, đinh hương.
- ^ Hồ Ngọc Đức (ed.). "húng lìu". Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (in Vietnamese).
- ^ a b "Húng lìu là gì? Bí quyết dùng húng lìu để rang lạc thơm phức" [What is húng lìu? The secrets of using húng lìu to make delicious roasted peanuts] (in Vietnamese). Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics & Tourism. June 23, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
- ^ Trịnh Quang Dũng (15 January 2010). "Phở muôn màu muôn vẻ" [Pho has ten thousand colors and ten thousand styles]. Báo Khoa Học Phổ Thông (in Vietnamese). Ho Chi Minh City Union of Science and Technology Associations. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Thạch Lam (1943). [Adding to pho]. [Hanoi: 36 streets and districts] (in Vietnamese). Đời Nay Publishing House – via Wikisource.
