Kafir Lime leaves

John_Mc

I've a recipe that requires Kafir Lime leaf and I went into two Oriential stores but neither had them. One did have frozen Lime leaves, but it didnt say Kafir so I left them off.

Are these what I'm looking for?

Also, any idea where to get cilantro root or stem?

Thanks

Curry Addict

sounds liek your making a thai curry paste, probably a green curry.
dried lime leaves are available in most asian shops, you could use some zest of a lime instead. for cilantro root you best bet is to buy a bunch of coriander in an asian shop that still has the roots on.

kilns

Tesco in clare hall stock them, they are shredded lime leaves. They are in a jar from some thai brand which does pastes etc

They are preserved in a liquid, could be just water not 100% sure

nompere

Tesco in Clare Hall stock the dry leaves, unshredded, in their "ingredients" section. They come in transparent plastic tubes.

Presumably other Tesco stores will have them as well.

"Kaffir lime leaves" and "lime leaves" are the same thing.

McConkey

kilns wrote: »

Tesco in clare hall stock them, they are shredded lime leaves. They are in a jar from some thai brand which does pastes etc

They are preserved in a liquid, could be just water not 100% sure

In Tesco Ennis too, so must be all over if we have them...

daithibailey

where in the east can you get frozen leaves, the dried ones are terribly bland.

John_Mc

daithibailey wrote: »

where in the east can you get frozen leaves, the dried ones are terribly bland.

The Oriental Emporium at the Jervis street shop has them in the back right in the freezer.

duploelabs

The 'Kafir' in kafir lime leaves is a derogatory south african term used to describe the people who picked the leaves. Hence the phrase not being used much anymore

faigs

Asia Market on Drury Street also have them. And I know it's a bit late OP but cilantro is the American name for coriander.

The Hill Billy

Duploelabs - What is your source for that? I understood it to be an alternative and more commonly used spelling to 'keiffer lime'.

duploelabs

My source is Rory O'Connell, head tutor of the ballymaloe Cookery School. I'd be pretty sure of his food knowledge

enda1

Kaffir lime leaves are much better frozen than dried. The ones frozen in an Asian shop will be correct I'm sure. They are a full, bright green in colour, and the instant you open the packet and smell them, you will be sure they are correct - there is an instant Thai green curry smell.

I've also bought the fruit. Its a knobbly yoke but with the most beautiful taste and smell (the zest).

I really love Thai food!

But may I point out that shrimp paste is one of the most vile, disgusting, stomach turning foods I've ever encountered, but it somehow works inside the paste...

unkel

duploelabs wrote: »

The 'Kafir' in kafir lime leaves is a derogatory south african term used to describe the people who picked the leaves.

AFAIK kafir is arabic for infidel and was used for centuries in Africa by Muslims to indicate non-muslim Africans in a derogatory way (like in "retard"). Much later it was used in South Africa by whites as a derogatory term for (some) (tribes of) black people. The word still exists in many languages, in Afrikaans and Dutch it is "kaffer" but as you say not used much anymore

I don't think it has anything to do with people who picked lime leaves...

daithibailey

John_Mc wrote: »

The Oriental Emporium at the Jervis street shop has them in the back right in the freezer.

cheers

Mrs Fox

Frozen ones, once thawed, are far superior in taste compared to dried ones.
Don't ever get the dried form kaffir lime leaves. Yuck!

enda1

While watching Raymond Blanc's programme on BBC, he said that fresh lime leaves are not allowed be imported because they can be infected by termites. So frozen are the best available and he said frozen is perfect "no problem".

nesbitt

Jamie Oliver recommended Lime leaves for Thai curry paste in one of his 30 min meals, he also further said to buy a bag of fresh leaves and freeze the leaves so advice seems to be universal.

However if I purchase the leaves frozen in Dublin 2 they would be well defrosted even using a freezer bag by the time I travel home.

Perhaps lime zest is for me the best substitute at the moment.

Minder

I too saw the Raymond Blanc comment on termites. I think he was referring to citrus spider mites or rust mites. They decimate citrus plants and are incredibly difficult to get rid of. I had a kaffir lime tree that was infected with mites. I tried all manner of things to get rid of the mites. Nothing worked. Eventually the tree died through a combination of mite damage and my extreme efforts to rid the tree of them. :mad:

dh0661

nesbitt wrote: »

Perhaps lime zest is for me the best substitute at the moment.

AFAIK I've seen kaffir lime flowers (I presume they are the same / similar to leaves?) on sale in the dried herbs & spices section of my local health food shop.