I’ve been having a hell of a time tracking down kaffir lime leaves and galangal, which seem to appear in every Thai recipe but aren’t actually for sale anywhere. First Hong Kong Market has them, then they don’t. Then they tell me you can no longer sell lime leaves in the U.S. WTF? Anyway, while glancing through the “sources” section of a borrowed copy of Ad Hoc at Home I found ImportFood.com. Lime leaves, chilis, galangal and more. Praise be.
May 16, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Lime leaves are sold at the Columbia Farmer’s market. I think it’s Kea International foods- on the Northeast end. I’ve bought frozen galangal from their store on Vandiver. There was a CFM vendor last year selling Kaffir Lime Plants for $20- I had decent luck with one outside until some bugs got to it. I want to try again. They’re tropical and should survive indoors over the winter inside in a bright place. You can order the plants online too. What I haven’t been able to source in Columbia are fresh or frozen Curry leaves (from the curry plant- not to be confused with curry powder!) for Indian cooking. I’m thinking of ordering a curry leaf plant.
May 16, 2010 at 3:39 pm
You can buy galangal powder in town.
May 17, 2010 at 12:52 am
I’ve found both galangal and kaffir lime leaves at Chang’s Market downtown. (across from The Forge and Vine)
May 17, 2010 at 5:40 am
Carrie’s right about the lime leaves at CFM, and the plants (ours is somehow still going strong). You might also try Meechu’s, the Filipino market on Vandiver. He has lots of good, authentic ingredients, though I can’t speak specifically for galangal. For example, he has pepper leaves, so he might have others.
Meechu’s web site is incomplete, but has address information.
May 17, 2010 at 8:55 am
I’ll look for lime leaves at CFM. I’ve called Chong’s before and they didn’t have any…won’t count them out now. Thanks for the excellent suggestions, everyone.
May 17, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I can speak for ImportFood.com. They have everything you should need including the giant granite mortar and pestles. Quick friendly service.
June 1, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Kea Market has had frozen galangel, and lime leaves, too.