Thai basil is an essential herb of Asian cuisine, especially Thai food. It has a distinctive flavour and goes well with Asian spicy dishes. It can be used in hot pots, soups and stir-fries, and can also be eaten raw as an accent in salads.
There are no supermarkets in our area that sell Thai basil. In order to buy Thai basil, we have to go to the Asian grocery shop in Montreal, 100kms from here.
In the Oriental supermarket in Montreal, it is sold in bags for about CAD$2, which is not very expensive, but we live in the woods, far from Montreal. So it’s best that we can grow them on our own.
Most herbs are very vigorous, and so is Thai basil. If you cut the stems and stick them in the soil, they will take root and grow relatively easily. In theory, you just need to buy it once and can clone it as much as you want.
Thai basil seeds are sometimes available in gardening centres, though it takes a bit more time to grow them from seed. Propagating from the cuttings is quicker.
The other day we went to Montreal and stopped at an Asian supermarket to buy some Thai basil. I took some cuttings and started to grow them.
After 10 days, it already had roots.
I potted them up immediately. After growing the seedlings, we will plant them in our garden, so that we can enjoy a hot summer with authentic Thai food!
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