makrut lime leaves

The classic, highly aromatic Thai seasoning for seafood includes lemongrass, galangal, lime leaf, hot pepper and coconut milk. Spicy and refreshing, the bright-tasting broth is a mix of sweet, salty, sour and herbaceous. You may substitute mussels or prawns for the clams.

Fragrant Thai-Style Clams in Coconut Broth

coconut oil

peeled,

chicken broth

lemongrass,

galangal, 1/4 inch thick (see note)

ginger, 1/4 inch thick

makrut lime leaves, torn

palm sugar or brown sugar

fish sauce

coconut milk

Salt,

clams

cilantro, leaves and tender stems

Lime wedges,

Heat coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

Add lemongrass, galangal, ginger, chiles, lime leaves, sugar and fish sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add coconut milk, then taste broth for salt and adjust. (You may prepare up to this point 1 to 2 hours in advance and leave at room temperature.)

Bring mixture to a boil over high heat and add clams. Cover and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until all clams have opened.

Transfer clams to soup bowls. Strain broth if desired and ladle over clams. Sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. Squeeze lime over each bowl and serve with lime wedges.

This simple, delicious recipe for a spicy beef stir-fry comes from Leela Punyaratabandhu, a cookbook author who adapted it from Soei, a family-run restaurant in Bangkok. Using thinly sliced beef tenderloin means the dish is ready in just minutes, and you can adjust the heat to taste by reducing or increasing the number of fresh bird's-eye chiles. Made with fresh holy-basil leaves, the classic Thai dish is known as <em>phat ka-phrao</em>. If you can't find holy basil at a Thai market, Indian market or health food store, you could swap in more widely available Thai sweet basil (pictured), and make a dish of <em>phat bai hora-pha</em>. The dish could be one part of a larger meal or stand alone with some jasmine rice and a fried egg.

Spicy Beef Stir-Fry With Basil

soy sauce, or light soy sauce

oyster sauce

chicken stock

packed teaspoon grated palm sugar, or light brown sugar

garlic

fresh bird’s-eye chiles

beef tenderloin, sliced against the grain into 2-inch-long, 1/4-inch thick strips

lime

If you’re making rice with this dish, get it started. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chicken stock and sugar. In a mortar or small food processor, grind together the garlic and chiles into a coarse paste.

Heat the lard in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic-chile paste, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Before the garlic starts to brown, add the beef, and stir-fry to separate the pieces and coat with fat. Add the liquid mixture, making sure not to leave any behind in the bowl, and cook until the beef is only barely pink, about 2 minutes. Add the lime leaves, and continue to cook until no pink remains on the beef, about 1 minute. Add the basil leaves, and stir until they are just starting to wilt, then remove from heat and serve with rice. (You can fish out the large pieces of makrut leaves before serving or put them aside as you eat.)

Tom yum is a hot and sour soup from Thailand with lively notes of lemongrass, makrut lime leaves and galangal. There are many variations of this iconic soup, including tom kha (coconut milk and dominant galangal notes), tom yum pla (fish) and tom yum gai (chicken). This version is vegetarian, hence not traditional, but it is reminiscent of tom yum koong nam khon, a creamy version that uses canned evaporated milk. (Use coconut milk if you prefer). Tom yum is often moored by nam prik pao, a staple Thai chile paste of roasted chiles, shrimp paste and fish sauce, but in this recipe, a combination of soy sauce, lime, garlic and sambal oelek provides a similar umami kick. The addition of vermicelli and tofu is also unconventional, but it turns this soup into a hearty, quick and comforting weeknight dinner.
 
To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-veggie">sign up for The Veggie newsletter</a>.

Tom Yum Soup With Tofu and Vermicelli

rice or mung bean vermicelli

soy sauce

lime juice (from 1 lime)

sambal oelek

garlic clove, grated

ginger

makrut lime leaves,

vegetable stock

mushrooms

cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

evaporated milk (optional)

scallions, finely sliced

cilantro leaves

Soak the vermicelli in room temperature water for 10 minutes, until they have softened. (Disregard package instructions.) Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, whisk together the soy sauce, lime juice, sambal oelek and garlic. Set aside.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the lemongrass, ginger, makrut lime leaves and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the mushrooms, and cook for 5 minutes. Discard the lemongrass stalks. Add the tomatoes and tofu, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the tofu is warm and the tomatoes have softened.

Add the sambal oelek mixture, salt and drained vermicelli to the soup, stirring gently to break the tofu into bite size pieces. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the noodles are transparent. Turn off the heat, and stir in the evaporated milk, if using.

Divide the soup into four bowls, top with scallions and cilantro leaves, and serve immediately.

This dish is somewhere between a shrimp salad and a ceviche – just-cooked shrimp dressed with a sour-savory-sweet mixture of lime, fish sauce, and sweet chile paste, then showered with herbs and chiles. In classic Thai fashion, it’s combination of many tastes, each moment on your palate different from the next. It’s a favorite of Pornpong Kanittanon, the Consul General of Thailand in New York, and the recipe is adapted from his wife, Jaisamarn.

Pla Goong (Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad)

Salt (optional)

lime juice (from about 3 limes)

sugar

nam prik pao (Thai chile paste

Thai bird chiles,

shrimp (1 1/2 pounds if heads-on)

lemongrass (see note)

shallot,

cilantro

mint leaves

makrut lime leaves, finely shredded

Jasmine rice,

Bring a pot of 3 quarts of water to a boil. (I like to salt the water like pasta water; Kanittanon does not add salt.)

In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, nam prik pao and chopped chiles. Taste, and adjust with any of the ingredients, including salt. The sauce’s flavor should be led by sourness and savoriness, but with a good balance of sweetness and heat.

Cook the shrimp in the water until it just turns opaque, medium or medium-rare, about 1 minute. For better flavor, cook the shrimp with heads or shells on; peel when just cooled enough to handle.

Add the shrimp to the sauce while still warm and toss; the lime will continue to “cook” the shrimp like a ceviche. Add the lemongrass, shallot, cilantro, mint leaves and makrut lime leaves, reserving a little of each herb for garnish. Toss, and place on a dish; scatter the reserved herbs on top. Serve immediately with hot rice.

Rum and makrut lime leaf help perfect this mango lassi.

Boozy Mango and Makrut Lime Lassi Recipe | Tasting Table

water

lime leaves

mango,

yogurt

buttermilk

lime leaf syrup

lime juice

kosher salt

Toasted pistachios, roughly chopped,

Green cardamom powder,

Make the makrut lime syrup: In a small sauce pot, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat.

Take the pot off the heat and allow the mixture to steep as it cools to room temperature.

Once the mixture is fully cooled, strain and reserve.

Make the lassi: In a blender, purée the mango chunks. Add the remaining ingredients and purée until smooth.

Serve cold in a Collins glass, garnish with the toasted pistachios and dust with the green cardamom powder, then serve.

Make Hor Mok, a soft Thai red curry fish custard steamed with coconut milk, tender fish, Thai basil, and makrut lime leaves. Cozy and so flavorful!

Hor Mok Recipe: Red Curry Fish Custard

2–3 tbsp red curry paste, to taste, less cabbage

leaves,

Preheat your steamer over medium heat while you prep the rest of your ingredients, so it’s ready to go as soon as your ramekins are filled.

In a mixing bowl, add 2-3 tbsp red curry paste and just a little of the 1.5 cups coconut milk. Stir until the curry paste loosens up and dissolves into the coconut milk.

If you add all the coconut milk at once, the curry paste likes to hide in little clumps, and then you have to chase it around the bowl. No fun! 

Add the remaining 1.5 cups coconut milk, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce, and 3 thinly sliced makrut lime leaves.

Add 8 oz thinly chopped white fish to the curry mixture. Stir until the fish is evenly mixed into the custard base. You can also put it all in a blender it for a smoother custard, but Thai Hubby prefers little pieces of fish.

If using banana leaves, wipe them clean with a damp towel. Cut or tear them into strips that fit inside the four ramekins, then tuck them in shiny side up. 

If you don’t have banana leaves, no worries! Just use the ramekins without them. 

Divide 1.5 cups shredded cabbage or kale and 8 or so Thai Basil leaves evenly between the ramekins.

This creates a little veggie bed under the fish custard, and it soaks up all that red curry coconut goodness as it steams.

Spoon the fish mixture into each ramekin, leaving about 1/2 inch of headroom at the top.

Don’t fill them all the way to the brim because the custard will puff up as it steams.

Place the ramekins in the preheated steamer.

Steam for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the custard is cooked through.

You’ll know it’s ready when the custard is puffed up and the center does not jiggle. A little liquid coming out when you poke it with a knife is okay, but the center shouldn’t look runny.

While the custards are steaming, make the coconut cream topping.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 tsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp water until dissolved. In a small pot, warm 1/4 cup coconut milk over medium heat. Once it reaches a gentle boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring often, until thickened. Remove from heat.

Once the custards are cooked through, spoon the thickened coconut cream on top.

Garnish with thinly sliced red bell peppers or red Thai chilies and 2 julienned makrut lime leaves, and/ or cilantro leaves, if using.

Serve warm with jasmine rice, and enjoy every soft, coconutty, curry-filled bite!

Step 6: Add the greens

Love finally having this recipe for this! It's a hidden gem for sure!

Top 6 makrut lime leaves recipes from across the web

The most viewed makrut lime leaves recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Fragrant Thai-Style Clams in Coconu...

Spicy Beef Stir-Fry With Basil

Tom Yum Soup With Tofu and Vermicel...

Pla Goong (Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad)

Boozy Mango and Makrut Lime Lassi R...

Hor Mok Recipe: Red Curry Fish Cust...

Top 6 makrut lime leaves recipes from across the web

The most viewed makrut lime leaves recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Fragrant Thai-Style Clams in Coconu...

Spicy Beef Stir-Fry With Basil

Tom Yum Soup With Tofu and Vermicel...

Pla Goong (Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad)

Boozy Mango and Makrut Lime Lassi R...

Hor Mok Recipe: Red Curry Fish Cust...

The most viewed makrut lime leaves recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine