Cilantro is a leafy, green aromatic herb that is widely used in Thai cooking. Cilantro leaves are used as a garnish, or as a final addition to dishes. Using cilantro in a raw form allows it to retain its delicate flavor, which can oftentimes be lost in cooking.

Cilantro roots are ground and added to broths, sauces, or can be used in a mixture of other herbs to make chili or curry pastes. Most of the time, cilantro is sold with the roots cut off, but whole cilantro plants can be found in Asian grocery stores. The seed of the cilantro plant, which can also be used in cooking, is called coriander. Cilantro grows throughout the world and is renowned for its medicinal abilities to normalize digestion and to remove toxins from the bloodstream.