Fish mint
Houttuynia cordata · Herb
Top 10 pairings
Fish mint (Houttuynia cordata), also called chameleon plant, heartleaf or by its Vietnamese name diếp cá and Chinese name yúxīngcǎo ("fishy-smell herb"), is a creeping wetland perennial whose heart-shaped leaves carry a startling, polarizing aroma of raw fish and coriander. It is eaten as a raw herb, salad green and medicinal plant across Southeast Asia, southern China, Japan, Korea and northeastern India.
Picking a good onedrag
Just cut, sprigs standing, sharply fishyLimp and blackening, slimy at the tie
Shop freshEveryday bestThe tied bunch as bought, blades whole, stems coloured. Buy it plain green from a grocer selling it as food: garden-centre and pond stock is grown to be looked at, not eaten.
How it is soldA named food supplier's pack, kept cool and damp
The leafGreen and whole, the blades relaxing but dry
The stemsStems bend before they snap, cut ends browning
The liftStands, then folds over slowly
Smell at the bunchThere, but you have to crush a leaf to get it