The herb plate — the array of fresh raw herbs, vegetables, and aromatics served as a structural accompaniment to the main dish in all mainland Southeast Asian culinary traditions — is not a garnish or an optional extra. It is a structural meal component that allows the diner to continuously modify the aromatic character of each bite by wrapping, dipping, or adding from the herb plate throughout the meal. Duguid documents this system across all five traditions in *Hot Sour Salty Sweet*.
Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford, *Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia* (2000); Naomi Duguid, *Burma: Rivers of Flavor* (2012)