Húng lìu


Húng lìu is a spice mixture of four or five spices found in Vietnamese cuisine. It is named after sweet basil.

Ingredients

Húng lìu typically consists of four ingredients ground into a fine powder:
Some recipes call for five ingredients, with the addition of sweet basil seeds.
Less common ingredients may include:
In northern Vietnam, húng lìu is typically used on roasted foods, such as roasted pig and crunchy coated peanuts. Húng lìu and five-spice powder have similar ingredients and can be used interchangeably on meat dishes. Húng lìu differs from the more well-known Cantonese blend in the portions of each ingredient, thus producing a distinct taste.
In the late 1920s, various phở vendors experimented with húng lìu as part of a short-lived "phở cải lương" trend.