How to use coriander

corblimey

I generally use coriander to tone down really spicy dishes, and up until a few weeks ago, I would carefully pull the leaves off the stalks and chop them up. Recently though, I've just been chopping the whole shebang up together, leaves, stalks, er leaves and stalks. I understand the whole lot is edible, so this seems like a much easier way to deal with the situation rather than the time consuming method I was using.

Any reason not to do this? (The coriander I tend to get is the plastic baggies from Tesco and it tends to come out of the bag all mixed up, and nothing at all like the pic they have on their site http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=255344104)

The Hill Billy

If I'm doing a curry & I have the time I'll remove the leaves from the stalks.
I chop the leaves roughly & use as a garnish for the finished dish.
The stalks I chop finely & chuck straight into the curry while it is still cooking.

Alun

The Hill Billy wrote: »

If I'm doing a curry & I have the time I'll remove the leaves from the stalks.
I chop the leaves roughly & use as a garnish for the finished dish.
The stalks I chop finely & chuck straight into the curry while it is still cooking.

Ditto. If its for a garnish I'll just use the leaves, but chuck the stalks in while cooking. If its a recipe that needs a good whack of coriander just before serving then everything goes in stalks and all.

corblimey

Generally, the recipes I follow suggest the use of coriander after taking off the heat right before serving, but really mix it into the dish, so it's not really an ingredient but it's also a little more than a garnish, if I understand that term properly.

Like I said, the coriander coming out of the bag is every which way, so lining it all up to remove the stalks has been a time consuming and troublesome affair in the past - but I'm also wary that anything easy in cooking is generally a little off

Alun

corblimey wrote: »

Generally, the recipes I follow suggest the use of coriander after taking off the heat right before serving, but really mix it into the dish, so it's not really an ingredient but it's also a little more than a garnish, if I understand that term properly.

In those cases, I'd just throw the lot in. The only proviso there would be that some coriander you buy is picked a little late, and some of the stalks have gotten quite thick, so in that case I'd probably remove some of the thicker lower stalks first.

RasTa

Got those potted plants they sell. Mine has survived for 6 weeks, which is a new record

homemadecider

How t use coriander:

1. Finely chop leaves .

2. Julienne stalks.

3. Throw it all in the bin!

(I hate coriander)

seosamh1980

I adore coriander so I throw all of it into curries, guacamole, Indian and Mexican dishes etc.

pwurple

Coriander leaves lose their flavour really fast under heat, so I only stir in at the very end, otherwise they just have no taste at all. Stalks I chop and throw in earlier, they hold the flavour much better.

I freeze them in ghee or oil in icecube trays if I need to store a big batch. put them on naans or stir into rice/curry then as I need.

LaChatteGitane

RasTa wrote: »

Got those potted plants they sell. Mine has survived for 6 weeks, which is a new record

I always buy the pots and plant them in bigger pots.
Unfortunately they cannot keep up their growth with my vigorous snipping. Same goes for all my herbs. I seriously need a HUGE herb garden with large quantities of each herb.:D

I use both the stalks and the leaves. Chop the stalks finely and rip the leaves with fingers. Everything added after the cooking.
Whenever there is some coriander that hasn't been snipped and has the chance to start flowering, I'll use that too as garnish. On the very rare occasion they will go to seed and I will collect that too for cooking.

Merkin

The stalks are the most flavoursome part of the plant. I always have a plant on the go in the kitchen - use it mainly for Thai dishes and Mexican - can't have a good guacamole without lots of coriander!

Chewabacca

The stalks have just as much flavour as the leaves and add extra texture to the dish if you use it raw as a garnish. Use it generously.

I buy a massive bag of it from an asian shop, roughly chop it and put it in the freezer. Then I just take it as I go. Don't be snobby about this until you try it, I used to think it was an awful idea but its well worth doing if you use coriander every week like I do. The tesco packs are a rip off by the way, go to an asian shop, probably a fifth the price.

MissFlitworth

Chewabacca wrote: »

I buy a massive bag of it from an asian shop, roughly chop it and put it in the freezer. Then I just take it as I go. Don't be snobby about this until you try it, I used to think it was an awful idea but its well worth doing if you use coriander every week like I do.

The only reason I don't do this is that I worry it'll become wet, rubbery and flavourless. Does it stay coriander tasting? [am assuming it must do or you wouldn't be doing it!]

Chewabacca

MissFlitworth wrote: »

The only reason I don't do this is that I worry it'll become wet, rubbery and flavourless. Does it stay coriander tasting? [am assuming it must do or you wouldn't be doing it!]

Obviously it loses some of its taste, but i just use extra, still tastes lovely. It doesnt become rubbery, gets a bit wet but if you're using it for anything other than a salad this makes no difference really.