There's a group of ingredients that decide whether a dish tastes right or not. Not the spice blend, not the sauce — the fresh leaves, stems and vegetables that hit the pan in the last ninety seconds.
Pad krapow without fresh holy basil is just mince with chilli. Green curry without makrut lime leaves and Thai basil loses its entire perfumed top note. And anyone who grew up eating pak boong stir-fried in a screaming-hot wok knows instantly that frozen spinach is not the same thing.
We stock all eleven of these fresh in both our stores. But we can't ship them — and we'd rather say so plainly than send you a bag of brown leaves.
Why we don't ship fresh herbs and vegetables
Our online store ships with Bring, and a parcel takes between one and five days from the moment we pack it to the moment you collect it. It isn't temperature-controlled along the way. In summer it can sit in a hot sorting facility; in winter it can freeze.
For dry goods, sauces, noodles and tinned food that's completely fine. For robust fresh produce like ginger it also works — you'll find that in the online store.
For the items in this guide it doesn't. Holy basil blackens within a day in a warm parcel. Cilantro turns slimy. Water spinach collapses. Lychees dry out and lose their juice. We've tested enough to know the result is poor, and we won't sell you something that arrives in worse condition than it left in.
So: these eleven items are sold in-store only. Come by Holmen or Røa and you'll get them the way they're meant to be.
Herbs and leaves
Holy basil (krapow / kaphrao)
What it is: Ocimum tenuiflorum, known in Thai as kaphrao or krapow. Narrower, slightly fuzzy leaves with a grey-green cast — nothing like the potted basil from Kiwi.
Taste: Peppery and sharp, with a hint of clove. Almost medicinal raw, but that sharpness turns warm and round the moment it meets hot oil.
How to use it: Pad krapow is the obvious one — minced pork or chicken, garlic, chilli, fish sauce and a fistful of holy basil stirred in at the very end, with a fried egg on top. It also takes well to being thrown into a hot curry in the final seconds.
Important: Holy basil and Thai basil are not the same thing and can't be swapped. Unlike Thai basil, holy basil develops its aroma in the heat — stir it into a screaming-hot pan for the last few seconds. But it won't survive long cooking; the leaves go dark and the flavour flattens.
Storage: Like all basil, it dislikes a cold fridge. Best is stems in a glass of water on the counter with a loose bag over the top. If you must refrigerate, wrap it loosely in paper, put it in the warmest part, and use it within two days — expect some darkening. Don't wash it until you're ready to cook.
Thai basil (sweet basil / horapha)
What it is: Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora, called horapha in Thai — purple stems, glossy green leaves, purple flower buds.
Taste: Anise and liquorice. Much sweeter and milder than holy basil, and far more perfumed than Italian basil.
How to use it: Green and red curry. As a fresh garnish for Vietnamese pho, alongside bean sprouts and lime. Pad kee mao (drunken noodles) is traditionally made with holy basil, though plenty of Western versions use Thai basil — both work, they're just two different dishes.
It's more heat-sensitive than holy basil. Add it right at the end, ideally after the heat is off.
Storage: Stems in a glass of water on the counter, like a bouquet. Not in the fridge — all basil suffers chilling damage and blackens after a few days in the cold. Keeps 4–5 days on the counter.
Fresh cilantro (coriander)
What it is: The whole plant, roots included when we can get it. Most people bin the stems and use only the leaves, which is a waste.
Taste: Citrusy and bright in the leaves. The stems are stronger and more aromatic. The roots are the deepest of all — earthy, almost horseradish-like.
How to use it:
- The leaves go on at the end, never cooked.
- The stems get finely chopped and fried with the garlic at the start. This is the single easiest way to lift a homemade stir-fry several notches.
- The roots are pounded in a mortar with garlic and white pepper. This trio is called sam gler and forms the base of Thai marinades, soups and stir-fries — satay among them. It also goes into some curry pastes.
Storage: Stems in water, a plastic bag draped loosely over the top, in the fridge. Keeps up to a week.
Makrut lime leaves (kaffir lime leaves)
What it is: The leaves of Citrus hystrix, glossy and dark green. They look like two leaves hanging one behind the other in a figure-of-eight, but it's actually a single leaf: the stalk is so broadly winged that it looks like a leaf in its own right. (You'll often see them sold as "kaffir lime leaves", the older trade name; makrut is the term more widely used today.)
Taste: Clean, intense lime-zest aroma with none of the acidity. It's one of the most distinctive smells in Southeast Asian cooking, and there is no good substitute — lime zest doesn't come close.
How to use them:
- Whole in soups and curries, like a bay leaf. Fish them out before serving, or let people push them aside.
- Finely shredded — roll the leaf tightly and slice hair-thin across. Scatter over fishcakes, salads and larb. Remove the tough central vein first.
- Bruised in your hand before dropping them into the pot, so they release more aroma.
Storage: This is the one item in the guide that stores beautifully. Put them in a sealed bag in the freezer — they hold their aroma for months and can be used straight from frozen. Buy plenty while you're here.
Vegetables
Bok choy (pak choi / pak choy)
What it is: A Chinese cabbage with white, crisp stems and dark green leaves. We stock both full-size and baby bok choy.
Taste: Mild, faintly mustardy, juicy. The stem is crisp like celery, the leaf soft like spinach.
How to use it:
- Halve it lengthways rather than chopping — halves or quarters look better and cook more evenly.
- Stems before leaves. The stems need a couple of minutes longer. Into the wok first, leaves last.
- Garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, a splash of water to finish steaming under a lid. Done in five minutes.
- Baby bok choy can be steamed whole and served as is.
Storage: Unwashed in the crisper drawer, 4–6 days. Wash just before use — grit often sits down between the stems.
Water spinach (morning glory / pak boong / kangkung)
What it is: Ipomoea aquatica — long hollow stems with pointed leaves. Note that "morning glory" in English also covers the ornamental climbers in the same genus. Close relatives, but not edible. It's the water spinach we're talking about here.
Taste: Mild and green, a bit like spinach, but with a completely different texture. The hollow stems keep their snap even after cooking — that's the entire point of the vegetable.
How to use it: Pak boong fai daeng — water spinach stir-fried over maximum heat with garlic, chilli, fermented soybean paste and oyster sauce. Ninety seconds, no more. The pan should be hot enough to smoke.
Tip: Cut into 5–7 cm lengths and keep the stems and leaves separate. Stems get thirty seconds on their own before the leaves go in.
Storage: This is the most delicate item we carry. Use it the same day or the day after. It doesn't tolerate storage, and it certainly doesn't tolerate the post.
Yardlong beans (long beans / Chinese long beans)
What it is: Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis — pods that grow 40–70 cm long.
Don't confuse them: What Norwegian shops label aspargesbønner is something else entirely — slim green beans of the species Phaseolus vulgaris, the haricot vert type. Yardlong beans are a different species, and the names get mixed up constantly in Norwegian recipes.
Taste: More intensely beany than haricots verts, and considerably firmer. They're denser in the flesh and far less watery, which is why they work in a wok where ordinary green beans go limp.
How to use them:
- Pad prik king — fried with red curry paste until they colour a little at the edges.
- Som tam — bruised in the mortar together with green papaya.
- Dry-fried in a bare pan until the skin blisters, then tossed with garlic and soy.
They want more heat and more time than you'd think. Soft-boiled yardlong beans are dull; lightly charred ones are excellent.
Storage: Fridge, up to a week. Bend one — it should snap, not just flex.
Thai eggplant and Asian eggplant
What it is: Two different things, and we stock both when the season allows.
- Thai eggplant (makhuea proh): green and white, golf-ball sized, crunchy, with a mildly bitter edge. Full of seeds — that's intentional.
- Long Asian eggplant: slim, purple, thin-skinned, with far fewer seeds and less spongy flesh than the standard European aubergine.
How to use them:
- Thai eggplant is quartered and goes into green curry, where it should keep some resistance. The bitter edge is part of the balance against the coconut milk.
- Long eggplant is ideal for grilling, for Chinese yu xiang qie zi, and for anything where you want a creamy texture without half a litre of oil. Thin skin means you can skip salting and pressing.
Tip: Drop cut Thai eggplant into water with a little lemon while you finish the rest — the cut surfaces brown fast otherwise.
Storage: Eggplants suffer chilling damage below about 10 °C, and a normal fridge runs at 4–5. Keep them somewhere dark and cool on the counter instead, and use within 4–5 days.
Spring onions (scallions)
What it is: The staple. We always have them in, and they're cheap, so there's no reason to be sparing.
How to use them: Treat them as two vegetables:
- The white part is an onion. It goes into the pan early, with the garlic and ginger.
- The green part is a herb. It goes on at the end, raw or nearly so.
Slice on a steep angle for better-looking pieces. Put finely shredded greens into ice water for ten minutes and they'll curl into the ringlets you see in restaurants.
Storage: Roots in a little water in a glass in the fridge — that gets you a week and a half. If you actually want them to keep growing, the glass needs to sit somewhere bright at room temperature. You'll get a couple more rounds of greens for free.
Fruit
Lychee (litchi)
What it is: Fresh lychee with red, bumpy skin — not the same product as the tinned version in syrup, which is sweeter and has lost most of its aroma.
Taste: Floral, rose-like, with an acidity the tinned fruit doesn't have.
How to use it: As it comes, chilled. Squeeze the shell and it splits, and the flesh slides out in one piece. The stone is large and comes away easily. Otherwise: in sorbet, in summer drinks, or sliced over a salad with chilli and lime.
Season: Fresh lychee arrives in waves through the year depending on the country of origin. We bring it in when we can get good quality, not on a fixed schedule — ask in store or keep an eye on the shelf.
Storage: In the fridge, in a sealed bag or container. It's moisture loss that turns the shell brown, so you want to keep the humidity in — a paper bag makes it worse. Light darkening in the first few days is cosmetic and doesn't mean rot, but it signals the fruit is past its peak. Best eaten within a week.
Jackfruit
What it is: The largest fruit that grows on a tree. We stock it in whatever form we can get in good condition — whole, halved, or ready-cut.
Two completely different ingredients:
- Unripe (green) jackfruit has almost no sweetness. Its fibrous texture is strikingly similar to pulled pork, which is why it's become a favourite for pulled jackfruit burgers, tacos and curries.
- Ripe jackfruit is intensely sweet, with an aroma somewhere between banana and bubblegum. Eaten as fruit.
A practical warning: Whole jackfruit contains a sticky white latex that gets on everything. Oil the knife and your hands with a neutral oil before you start, and put newspaper on the counter. It isn't difficult, but it's messy the first time.
Storage: Whole fruit at room temperature until it's cut. Cut flesh in a sealed container in the fridge, 3–4 days, or in the freezer.
Storage at a glance
| Item | Where | Keeps | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy basil | Water on the counter | 2–3 days | Wants a hot pan, not long cooking |
| Thai basil | Water on the counter | 4–5 days | Never the fridge |
| Cilantro | Stems in water, fridge | Up to 1 week | Use stems and roots |
| Makrut lime leaves | Freezer | Months | Buy plenty |
| Bok choy | Fridge, unwashed | 4–6 days | Wash just before use |
| Water spinach | Fridge | 1–2 days | Use the same day |
| Yardlong beans | Fridge | Up to 1 week | Should snap, not bend |
| Eggplant | Dark and cool on the counter | 4–5 days | Chilling damage below ~10 °C |
| Spring onions | Roots in water, fridge | 1.5 weeks | Bright and warm = keeps growing |
| Lychee | Fridge, sealed bag | Up to 1 week | Brown shell = drying, not rot |
| Jackfruit | Room temp, fridge once cut | 3–4 days cut | Oil the knife first |
Frequently asked questions
Can I order fresh herbs and vegetables from FUDI's online store?
No. The items in this guide are sold only in our Holmen and Røa stores. Online delivery takes 1–5 days without temperature control, and delicate produce like holy basil, cilantro and water spinach doesn't survive that journey in good condition. Dry goods, sauces, pastes and noodles for the same dishes can be ordered online.
What's the difference between holy basil and Thai basil?
Two different plants. Holy basil (kaphrao) is peppery and clove-like, with narrow matte leaves, and is used in pad krapow. Thai basil (horapha) is sweeter with an anise note, has purple stems and glossy leaves, and is used in curries and pho. Swapping one for the other changes the character of the dish.
Can I use ordinary basil instead of Thai basil?
You can, but the result is Italian rather than Thai. Italian basil lacks the anise note that's the whole point in green curry and pad kee mao. If you have the choice, make the trip for the real thing.
What can I use instead of makrut lime leaves?
Nothing that really works. Lime zest and lime juice give you acidity but not the perfumed aroma. The better move is to buy makrut lime leaves when you're in the store and freeze them — they hold their aroma for months and go straight from frozen into the pot.
Are bok choy and pak choi the same thing?
Yes. Same vegetable, different transliterations from Chinese. You'll also see pak choy, pakchoi and bok choi. Baby bok choy is the same plant harvested earlier, and is milder and more tender.
Are "morning glory" and water spinach the same thing?
In a cooking context, yes — water spinach, pak boong and kangkung are all names for the same vegetable. But "morning glory" in English also covers the ornamental climbers in the same genus, and those you shouldn't eat.
Are yardlong beans the same as aspargesbønner?
No, though the names get mixed up constantly in Norwegian recipes. What's sold as aspargesbønner in Norwegian shops is slim green beans of the haricot vert type. Chinese yardlong beans are a different species, grow 40–70 cm long, and are firmer and less watery — which is why they hold their bite in a wok.
What's the difference between Thai eggplant and ordinary aubergine?
Thai eggplant is green and white, golf-ball sized, crunchy, seedy and slightly bitter, and is used in green curry. The large purple European aubergine is softer and milder. Long Asian eggplant is a third option: thin skin, few seeds, and no need to salt it before frying.
How do I store fresh cilantro so it lasts longer?
Stand the stems in a glass of water and drape a plastic bag loosely over the top, in the fridge. That gets you up to a week. Don't wash it before you're ready to use it. And don't throw away the stems — they're more aromatic than the leaves.
Are unripe and ripe jackfruit the same product?
No. Unripe green jackfruit is almost unsweet and has a fibrous texture resembling shredded meat — it's used in curries, tacos and "pulled jackfruit". Ripe jackfruit is intensely sweet and eaten as fruit. Recipes are rarely interchangeable between the two.
How to get hold of these items
Everything in this guide is sold in-store only. You'll find it in the fresh produce section, and the selection varies a little from day to day — water spinach and holy basil are perishable in the truest sense, and we bring in what we can sell while it's at its peak.
FUDI Holmen
Holmengata 6, 1394 Nesbru
Mon–Fri 09–21 · Sat 09–20 · Sun 11–19
FUDI Røa
Tore Hals Mejdells vei 5, 0751 Oslo
Mon–Fri 09–21 · Sat 09–20 · Sun 11–19
If you're not sure whether we have a particular item in today, ring the store before you get in the car. We're happy to check.
What you can order online instead
Everything dry and shelf-stable that belongs to the same dishes is in the online store: curry pastes, fish sauce, oyster sauce, coconut milk, rice noodles, dried chillies, palm sugar, tamarind, rice vinegar and the rest of the foundation. Robust fresh produce like ginger, garlic and fresh chillies also travels well and is available online.
That way you have everything ready at home, and you only need to pick up the fresh leaves and vegetables when you're passing by.
See also: All our stores · Recipes and inspiration
