Rau Ram Pico de Gallo

By Sam Sifton

Published December 5, 2015

  • Peden & Munk for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Lauren Smith Ford.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(45)
Comments
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Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa deployed all over Mexico: raw onion and tomato with cilantro, serrano peppers, lime juice and salt. The San Antonio chef Quealy Watson uses the Vietnamese cilantro known as rau ram as an additional ingredient, along with fish sauce, which gives the salsa an earthy, flavorful bounce. ‘‘No Mexican grandmother I’ve ever cooked with has ever had a recipe for pico de gallo,’’ Watson told The Times in 2015. ‘‘They just taste as they go.’’ It’s the same principle here, which yields an excellent salsa to serve with fish tacos or barbecued meats.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 6-8

  • 2 small jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and finely minced

  • ½ medium-size onion, peeled and diced

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves

  • 2 tablespoons roughly chopped rau ram (Vietnamese coriander)

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

4 grams carbs; 18 calories; 1 gram fiber; 445 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium-size bowl, combine the peppers, onion, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and rau ram.

  2. Step 2

    Add the fish sauce and lime juice a tablespoon at a time, tasting as you go.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
45 user ratings
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Comments

Chilewheel

No. Rau ram is also known as Vietnamese coriander, and has a distinct flavor. In Vietnam, culantro is known as ngo gai or sawtooth herb, and (shadon benin or shadow Benny in the Caribbean) . I like to describe it as cilantro on steroids.

Jonas Thanner

On a side note, rau răm grows like a weed and it is so easy to get an all summer supply of fresh leaves. Even survived one warm Bavarian winter.

Chris Barraza

Surprised there aren't more comments. Rau ram pushes this recipe over the top. The soapy/astringent flavor is a great contrast to the other ingredients, and it comes through as "Wow, what is that?" To me, at least. Maybe the lack of comments reflects that rau ram can be difficult to come by, even in some major urban areas. (Not carried at the H Mart in Westchester, but no problem finding it at H Mart (and other Asian marts) in MoCo MD.

Julia Blythe Gaines

Cilantro is the tops of the plant and the pods are known as coriander.

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