If your recipe calls for Thai basil, you may be tempted to skip it and use something else instead.
Try not to - it is worth using Thai basil even if it is not always easy to get hold of where you live.
Thai basil brings different flavours to dishes than the classic European basil - and comes in several varieties.
Bai Horapa (also known as Tulsi or sweet basil) is considered a true Thai basil and its flavour is reminiscent of aniseed and liquorice.
Bai Maenglak (also known as lemon basil) has a mild flavour and a lemony aroma.
Kra Pao (known as holy basil) has a sharper flavour and recalls cloves and cinnamon when you heat it.
Thai basil goes well with many Asian dishes, from curries to stir-fries. "The important thing is that Thai basil - just like our classic European basil - should only be added just before the end of the cooking time," says Daniela Krehl, nutrition expert at the Bavarian Consumer Advice Centre, so you can enjoy a particularly intense and fresh flavour.
If you wind up buying a Thai basil plant, divide it and plant the individual bushes, preferably in clay pots, so the shoots have enough space to flourish and grow.
The plants like bright locations, but without direct sunlight, Krehl says.
When harvesting, don't pluck off individual leaves, but cut off shoots or entire stems to encourage your plant to grow so you always have a fresh supply. — dpa
