Advice on using Thai Basil

I am not familiar in the use of fresh Thai basil. My husband put a plant in while I was away and it is now a shrub!! The smell is intense but I have used it now primarily in fresh salads and have found it not at all flavorful. Is this an herb, like some varieties of oregano that are meh fresh or is it a function of what vehicle the oils are dispersed in that renders the aroma into taste ?
Appreciate any insight here. Would like to put some of that shrub to good use.

I'm no expert on these things, other than having eaten them from time to time.

Compared to sweet basil, the thai basil has a bit more anise flavor and the leaves are more durable. So, you can sorta treat them like bay leaves or as last-minute toss ins for an extra green blast.

Then there's holy basil, which is Indian. It's similar to thai basil in flavor but a lot more perfumey. Lovely stuff, if you can find it.

[Jenise]

Christina, I adore Thai basil. A favorite dish is a stir fry wherein handfuls of it are added to chicken and onions. I have never been blessed with a shrub of it so I've never had to look for other uses--when I have it, other than tomato salad, I make this chicken dish.

I have a Thai Basil plant and like most Basil, they need to have the flowers clipped or the leaf will get bitter. I have not used it much, but it is in one of my lunch salads when I do. It is a nice addition and milder than the sweet basil I grow. They will get to be a huge shrub, and I have found that most herbs thrive on being trimmed and are a better plant when left on the smaller size.

There are two kinds of Thai basil. The usual one--and the one I assume you have--goes by the Thai name horapa. It is a variety of the same species as European basil, but the leaves look different and it has a different aroma profile. The fresh leaves (bai horapa) are used in Thai cooking, particularly in larb (spicy salad) and in stir-fries. One can substitute European basil for horapa at a pinch. I imagine it could work in the opposite direction, too, but I've never made pesto using bai horapa.

The other kind of Thai basil is holy basil, called krapow in Thai and tulsi in Hindi. It's a different species of plant (Ocimum sanctum) from European basil and horapa (Ocimum basilicum), but the two are closely related. It has a more minty character than European basil. The fresh leaves (bai krapow) are used in stir-fries and some noodle dishes. Holy basil starts wilting as soon as it's picked and so the fresh leaves are hard to find in the marketplace because of their short shelf life. Most restaurants and home cooks substitute horapa for krapow.

I posted a recipe for Thai stir-fried chicken with chiles and holy basil here. You can substitute bai horapa for the bai krapow.

-Paul W.