Mint.

Sa ra nae is the mint most often found at Thai markets, with small, rounded, slightly crinkled leaves on soft green stems. Rub a leaf and you get a cool, sweet smell that's gentler than the sharp peppermint of sweets and gum. In Thai food it's almost always used fresh and raw, piled into meat salads or served on the side, so it goes in at the very end.

Ways to use it

• Stir a big handful of leaves into larb or nam tok right before serving.
• Add leaves to yum salads, especially the lemongrass salad yum takrai.
• Put whole sprigs on the plate of fresh vegetables served with som tam or larb.
• Bruise a few leaves into iced lime juice or a glass of cold water.
• Chop it with coriander and spring onion as a fresh topping for rice porridge.

Pick the leaves off the stems and add them whole or roughly torn. Chopping too fine bruises them and they darken.

Storing it

Stand the stems in a glass of water with a bag sitting loosely over the leaves, or keep the bunch in a plastic bag in the fridge drawer. Expect it to last about 2 to 3 days. Since mint is eaten raw, wash it well just before use. Swish it in a bowl of clean water, then rinse it under running water.

Where it comes from

Grown to certified organic standards. The certificate for each lot is shown when you trace your pack.

Every pack will carry a lot code. Enter it on the Trace your pack page and you will see the farms in that lot, the harvest date and the certificate.