Coconut Kaffir Lime

Two years ago on my birthday, I had a cocktail at The Standard Grill in Manhattan. The memory of the flavors and the scent of kaffir lime floating on my elderflower and cucumber martini inspires me to create flavors today.

Kaffir limes resemble key limes, but they are smaller and more wrinkled. They are used in Southeast Asian cuisine and curries, and are indigenous to India, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. My mother often speaks about how, growing up in Singapore, it was common to pick ingredients off their kaffir lime tree in her backyard. I bought a small package of dried kaffir lime leaf powder from Bangkok Center Grocery in Manhattan's Chinatown, a tiny but wonderous store tucked behind the street of Chinese funeral parlors and wedged between two 5-for-a-dollar fried dumpling lunch counters. Ahh, I miss NYC.