Cilantro root rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 12 recipes to cook with it.

What is cilantro root?

Cilantro root is the pale taproot at the bottom of a cilantro plant, the part most Western cooks throw away. In Thai cooking it's a foundation ingredient, valued for a flavor deeper and earthier than the leaves.

It's still herbal, but rounded with a warm, almost nutty note that holds up to long cooking.

If you've only met cilantro as the bright green leaf, the root is a different animal. The leaf fades fast and turns harsh when overcooked. The root does the opposite, releasing its flavor slowly and standing up to pounding and long simmering.

Cooking With Cilantro Root

The classic Thai use is the seasoning paste known as the holy trinity: cilantro root pounded with garlic and white peppercorns in a mortar. That paste is the savory base under grilled meats and stir-fries.

It's exactly what flavors a Broiled or Grilled Marinated Chicken (Gai Yang), rubbed under the skin before the bird hits the heat.

The root also dissolves into curry pastes and soups. A Jungle Curry Paste (Kaeng Paa) leans on pounded root for its earthy backbone, and the root simmers cleanly into broths and braises like a Duck Curry without turning bitter the way chopped leaves can.

To prep it, scrub off the grit, trim the wispy hairs, then bruise or finely mince the root before pounding. A little goes a long way. One or two roots is plenty for a paste serving four.

Pairings and Common Mistakes

Cilantro root belongs to a Southeast Asian flavor world of garlic, white pepper, fish sauce, palm sugar, lemongrass, and galangal. It pairs especially well with pork and chicken, which is why it turns up in a Thai Sausage-Chiang Mai Style and in marinades for satay.

The biggest mistake is treating the root like the leaf and adding it at the end. Its flavor needs heat and time to bloom, so it goes in at the start, pounded into a paste or simmered into stock, not stirred in to finish.

The second pitfall is tossing it in without a wash. Roots trap soil in their fine hairs, so a quick rinse isn't enough. Soak and scrub them, or you'll get grit in the paste.

What to Use Instead

True cilantro root is hard to find outside Asian markets, so substitutes are the norm. The cleanest swap is the lower stems of a cilantro bunch, the pale part just above where the root would be.

Finely mince a good handful of stems to stand in for a couple of roots. The flavor is close, just a touch lighter.

If you have neither, a small amount of ground coriander seed plus extra cilantro stems approximates the warm, earthy depth, since the seed and the root share aromatic compounds. It won't be identical, but it carries the dish.

Buying and Keeping It

Look for cilantro sold in bunches with the roots still attached, common at Southeast Asian grocers and at farmers markets. Choose firm, cream-colored roots with no sliminess and leaves that still look lively, since tired tops mean tired roots.

Store the unwashed bunch in the fridge, roots wrapped in a damp paper towel and the whole thing in a loose bag, and use within about a week.

For longer storage, clean the roots, then mince or pound them and freeze in a small block or an ice cube tray. Frozen root keeps its punch for months and drops straight into a hot pan.

Quick facts

In Chinese

香菜根

British (UK) term

Cilantro root

en français

coriandre racine

en español

raíz de cilantro

Recipes using cilantro root

There are 12 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 12 recipes