What Is Coriander root and How Can I Use It?

If coriander root has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 37 recipes to try it in.

Key Points

The root of the cilantro plant, deeper and earthier than the leaf, central to Thai cooking.
Pound it with garlic and white peppercorns into a paste, the base of curry pastes and marinades.
A foundation flavor, not a garnish: add it at the start, pounded or simmered, never at the end.
No exact substitute; use cilantro lower stems at about double the volume, plus ground coriander seed.
Save and freeze roots from cilantro bunches; they hold their flavor for months.

What is coriander root?

Coriander root is the pale, thread-like root of the same plant that gives us cilantro leaves and coriander seeds. In Thai cooking it is the most valued part, with a deeper, warmer, earthier flavor than the leaf and none of the soapy edge some people taste in cilantro.

Crush a clean root and you get a concentrated coriander aroma backed by something close to white pepper and celery. That intensity is why it anchors the flavor base of Thai curry pastes and marinades rather than being scattered on top at the end.

It is a foundation ingredient, not a garnish. Where cilantro leaves go in last for freshness, the root goes in first, pounded into a paste to build the savory backbone of a dish.

How to Use Coriander Root

The classic Thai move is to pound coriander root with garlic and white peppercorns into a rough paste, the holy trinity that starts countless savory dishes. That paste seasons marinades for grilled meat and forms the base of curry pastes like Amazing Green Curry Paste and Masaman Curry Paste.

It also flavors broths and soups from the inside. Bruise a whole root and simmer it in the stock for Dom Yam Gung or Gai Thom Kha, then fish it out before serving, the way you would a bay leaf.

Always scrape and wash the roots well first. They grow in sandy soil and trap grit in the fine side rootlets, so a quick rinse is never enough; scrub them under running water and trim any blackened tips.

Pound rather than chop when you can. A mortar and pestle bruises the fibers and releases far more aroma than a knife, which is why traditional pastes start in the stone bowl rather than a food processor.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Coriander root lives in the company of garlic, white pepper, lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, and chilies.

It underpins seafood and chicken especially well, the savory ground note in Red Thai Fish Cakes and a Thai Roast Duck Red Curry, where it balances the sweetness of coconut and the heat of chili.

The most common mistake is treating it like cilantro leaf and adding it at the end. The root is tough and its flavor needs heat and time to open up, so it belongs at the start of cooking, pounded or simmered, not sprinkled on at the finish.

The second is tossing the roots when you buy cilantro with them attached. Those roots are the part you actually want for cooking, so cut them off and set them aside rather than dropping them in the bin with the trimmings.

Substitutes

There is no exact swap, but you can get close.

The most common fix is to use the lower stems of a bunch of cilantro, the thicker, paler part near the root, finely chopped or pounded. They carry much of the same earthy flavor, so use about double the volume to make up for the milder punch.

Cilantro stems plus a pinch of ground coriander seed gets you nearer still, adding back some of the warm, citrusy depth the root brings. It is a workable stand-in for a curry paste or marinade.

In a real pinch, a small amount of ground coriander seed alone gives the warm aromatic note, though you lose the fresh, green character entirely. Reach for it only when no fresh cilantro is on hand.

Buying and Storing

Coriander root is sold mainly at Asian and Southeast Asian grocers, often as whole bunches of cilantro with the roots still attached and the soil clinging on. Look for firm, cream-colored roots; limp or slimy or yellowing ones are past their best.

Fresh roots are perishable. Wrapped in a damp paper towel inside a bag, they keep about a week in the fridge, but the leaves attached to them wilt much faster, so use or remove the tops early.

For longer storage, freezing is the cook's secret. Scrub the roots and pat them dry, then freeze them whole or as a pounded paste in a small container; they hold their flavor for months and go straight from freezer to pot.

This is the reason to save the roots whenever a recipe calls only for cilantro leaves.

If you can only find dried or jarred coriander root, treat it as a weaker, last-resort option, since drying strips most of the fresh aroma that makes the root worth seeking out.

Quick facts

Where to find coriander root: Coriander root is usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese: 香菜根
British (UK) term: Coriander root
en français: racine de coriandre
en español: raíz de cilantro

Recipes using coriander root

There are 37 recipes that contain this ingredient.

List of all ingredients

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