Eat This Word: Kaffir Lime

WHAT? Fragrant fruit. Until recently, American cooks had a hard time getting hold of Kaffir limesbumpy-skinned, deep green, intensely fragrant citrus fruits that give a jolt of flavor to many Southeast Asian dishes. Dried or fresh, the leaves, rind, and juice of the fruit are indispensable elements in enlivening soups, salads, and curries. Kaffir limes are used in the cuisines of such countries as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia "with a frequency bordering on automaticity," Alan Davidson writes in The Oxford Companion to Food. Davidson, incidentally, objects to the name Kaffir and suggests the alternative of Makrut lime, the Thai word. Kaffir, he writes, probably comes from the Arabic word for infidel and has long been used in South Africa as a pejorative term for blacks.

WHERE? Team New JerseyBeard House dinner

WHEN? January 26, 2011

HOW? Poha Rice–Coated Frogs’ Legs with Kaffir and Key Lime–Chile Sauce