Title: Subject: Kaffir Lime
Categories: Thai Spice Info Hawaii
Yield: 4 Servings

Kaffir lime

Grown in Southeast Asia and Hawaii, the kaffir lime tree produces small, pear-shaped citrus fruit with a skin that's bright yellow-green, bumpy and wrinkled. The glossy, dark green kaffir lime leaves, which are used in cooking, have a unique double shape and look like two leaves that are joined end to end. Dried kaffir lime rind and leaves, which have a mysterious flora-citrus aroma, can be found in Asian markets. Fresh leaves, which have a more intense, fragrant aroma, are sometimes also available.

Kaffir Lime (Citrus hystrix)

Synonyms Burmese: Shauk-nu, Shauk-waing; English: Indonesian lime leaves; German: Kaffernlimette, Indische Zitronenblätter, Indonesische Zitronenblätter; Indonesian: Daun jeruk purut; Khmer: Kraunch soeuth; Malay: Daun limau purut; Thai: Bai makrut.

Used plant part The characteristically "winged" leaves; if available, the fruits, especially the fruit skin, may also be used.

Plant family Rutaceae (lemon family).

Sensoric quality Strongly lemon-like, rather unpleasant to many people.

Main constituents I do not know.

Origin South East Asia.

Etymology For a discussion of Citrus, see lemon. The species name hýstrix (Greek "porcupine") refers to the many thorns of the plant. The kaffir lime leaves are a very popular spice in Thailand; their characteristic flavour appears in nearly every Thai soup (e.g., the hot and sour tom yam), stir-fry or curry (see chile for a list of other ingredients to Thai curries). In Thai cuisine, kaffir lime is frequently combined with garlic, galanga, ginger and fingerrroot, together with liberal amount of chiles. Fresh Thai basil is needed for the authentic fragrance. Kaffir lime leaves are also popular in the West of Cambodia, but less so in Vietnam. Malay and Indonesian (especially, Balinese; see also Indonesian bay leaf) cuisines use them sporadically for chicken and fish.

Kaffir lime has a very strong, characteristic fragrance that cannot easily be substituted by other spices; ordinary lime or lemon peel is probably the best substitute. Dried leaves lose their flavour within a year; therefore, they are better kept frozen.

The fruit juice, which is very sour and has the same fragrance as the leaves, is sometimes added to fish or poultry dishes in Malaysia or Thailand. Less commonly, it is also used in Indonesia. For a summary of sour spices, see tamarind.

Padej Gajajiva, P.E. [trout29@en.com] Cleveland, Ohio

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