What did I buy?

[Kim Shook]

I bought a bag of what I thought was basil at our Asian grocery store. It smelled fairly basil-y and looked like it. The young lady putting out produce seemed to indicate that it was basil. She was right about the mint, but I'm not sure about the basil. I've chopped it all up unfortunately, so I can't show you. When I started chopping it, it smelled a bit like licorice and tasted slighly like that, too. Each bunch had a purplish bulb on it with lavender blossoms. So - what is it?

[Charcuterer]

Probably Thai Basil. Great stuff in Thai and Vietnamese food. Don't think it would be very good in a Pesto genovese.

[C. sapidus]

I agree - sounds like Thai basil. Makes me hungry just thinking about the lovely anise aroma. See comparison picture on Wikipedia, with Thai basil on the right.

I often see Thai basil with purply-tinged leaves.

[BadRabbit]

Probably Thai Basil. Great stuff in Thai and Vietnamese food. Don't think it would be very good in a Pesto genovese.

It's actually delicious in pesto.

[Kim Shook]

Thanks so much, I think that's exactly what it is. Well, the recipe I used it in was a salad dressing and though it may be different, it tastes great.

[baconburner]

Hi

Had the same experience but it turned out to be Hawaiian basil which is slightly different.

Cheers

Poorsh