Basil (selasih) (27 October 2008)
Selasih is the local name for basil, a low-growing aromatic herb that is occasionally used in Nyonya cooking, as carrying influences from Thai, Vietnamese and other Indo-Chinese cooking. The type of basil used in such Asian cooking is different from the sweet basil that features in Italian cuisine, though they are all from the genus
Ocimum of the family
Lamiaceae.
As far as Nyonya cooking is concerned, selasih is not a very popular - compared to mint, perhaps - as there are many people who are not used to its fragrance.