Kaffir Lime Leaves
Kaffir lime leaves are thick, dark green, shinny on the top, porous and pale on the back. A leaf has two connecting leaves which I call ‘double leaves’. Tear a leaf to smell the distinct aroma.
Many Thai recipes call for the kaffir lime leaves. If the leaf is used whole, in soup, most people do not eat the leaf itself. The only time the leaf is eaten is when it sliced very thin for recipes like Tod Mun and Panang.
Fresh leaves keep well in a refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. Dried leaves are also available at markets. Many Asian markets now have fresh leaves.
If the recipe calls for kaffir lime leaves and you can’t find any, skip the leaves. Don't substitute, the fragrance is so distinct that it is irreplaceable.
I have grown a few Kaffir lime trees, either picking them up at the home improvement stores or growing them from seeds. They seem happy in a large pot, like a half wine barrel. In such a pot, grow to about 3 feet tall. Even with 3 foot tall trees, we get more leaves than we can use. When we lived in a cold climate, we’d bring it inside the house during the winter, then back out in the summer. Now in a warmer climate, my kaffir lime trees stay outside all year round.
Like other citrus, the fruits are ready in fall and winter. It’s November right now and my tree just started to flower and form fruits! Soon I can make homemade curry pastes with the zest!
Recipes made with kaffir lime leaves
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Spicy Budoo
Nam Budoo Song Kreung
Traditional southern Thai sauce served with rice and many veggies.
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Steamed Curried Fish
Haw Moak
Steamed, marinated fish in curry paste and coconut milk on vegetables.
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Tod Mun
Fried fish cake, spiced with Thai curry and kaffir lime leaves.
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Tom Yum Goong
Shrimp in clear spicy soup made from lemon grass, kaffir lime, hot pepper, lime juice and fish sauce
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Tom Yum Gai
Hot and sour, lean chicken soup with lemongrass and galangal.
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Kaffir Lime
Magrood มะกรูด
Kaffir lime is used extensively in Thai cooking. Both the zest and leaves are very useful. The fruit looks like a wrinkled lime, big wrinkles. Thai people believed the juice is excellent hair rinse to prevent hair from falling out. The zest of the lime is a key ingredient in red and green curry pastes.
The juice is used in a few Thai dishes, but the zest is more common.
Recently, Thai growers have developed and started growing a kaffir lime without wrinkles that is easier to pack and ship around the world.
Recipes made with Kaffir Lime
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Green Curry Paste
Prig Gang Kiew Wan
Spicy green curry paste made with fresh Thai green chili peppers.
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