Where to buy Kaffir Limes

[ssackett]

Does anyone know where to find fresh (or frozen if must be) kaffir limes or leaves on the east side of town, near Pasadena?

I've got a gourmet group challenge ot cook a vegetable dishing using them. Any great recipes?

[OC Mutt]

Buy a tree. Seriously - After years of fighting with inconsistent sources, bought one and have never been happier . I've had mine for 5 years, they're inexpensive, most are dwarfs (mine is like 2.5 feet high, maybe 3 feet tops, they're easy to maintain, and hard to kill (the leaves have fallen off a few times, I thought it was dead, and yet it came back! I bought mine at OSH for $14, but who knows if they carry them regularly or not. This place sells them online.
http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/lore/...

[silverlakebodhisattva]

Just saw two trees in the nursery section at the Hollywood OSH location; that'd be the one closest to Thai-town......

[jonahlee]

I have thought about it, but we have had back luck with trees at our house so far. Our lemon tree does not look like it is going to make it.

[SmartCookie]

I'm coming to L.A.(specifically I'll be around Hollywood and Santa Monica) for a visit in June and can't wait to bring back kaffir lime leaves; CA is the only state where you can buy them as there has been an import ban in the rest of the US since January.

[jonahlee]

Ouch, that sucks! Yea, get all you can, and freeze them when you get home!

[IreneDAdler]

I just went to 99 Ranch in Arcadia today (the one at Duarte and Golden West) and I could not find any kaffir lime leaves for the life of me. This was my first time trying to buy these so I wasn't sure where exactly to look for them. I looked through both the fresh produce section and the dried spices section carefully and couldn't find any at all :( I was only able to find the fresh lemongrass in a corner of the produce section and some dried galangal in the dried spices and pastes section. Am I blind? Where can I find these leaves? And if there's any store that carries fresh galangal, that would be awesome to know too :) Thanks!

[Das Ubergeek]

They're wrapped up on white Styrofoam™ trays near the chilies and, yes, the fresh galangal. I've never not seen either of them, but I've never been to the 99 Ranch you visited.

[IreneDAdler]

I went down to Gardena today for some mochi and decided to try my luck at the Gardena Ranch 99 and I found both the leaves and the galangal exactly as you described :D Thanks a bunch!

[Das Ubergeek]

You're very welcome, glad it worked out!

[jonahlee]

Silom at Thailand Plaza was totally out of Khaffir lime leaves today, does anyone know if Bangluck might carry them?

Bangluck Market Corp
12980 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
[phone]

[sel]

Both Bangluck Markets have always had lime leaves but so has Silom Market when I've gone!

[jencounter]

I can never find them at the Bangluck in Reseda - where do they keep them?

This has made my day! There used to be a tiny asian (but mostly thai) grocery in the shopping center on the southwest corner of Roscoe/DeSoto (next to the DeSoto Pharmacy). Because I could never find them at Bangluck (which is much closer to my house), I would always buy them there. It's long closed, now - so this news cheers me.

[jonahlee]

Yea the one in North Hollywood always has them. And if they are not out, just ask and they will get your more.

Damn I love their flavor, and it has hints of Sichuan Peppercorns. Yummy!

[estone888]

The leaves, fresh or frozen, shouldn't be that hard to find in Thai or Vietnamese markets. Although - be aware that they are often mixed up with orange leaves here - Jazz at Jitlada has complained to me about that. (I have a Thai lime tree and so I bring her bags of leaves when I go there.) The limes themselves are seldom used - I've seen thin slices of them thrown in with prik nam pla (fish sauce with chilis chopped into it) but even that is pretty rare.

[sel]

ANY Thai Market has lime leaves. Many other Asian markets carry them.
Ask for recipes on Home Cooking Board, you'll get some good ones.

[Jack Flash]

I have personally bought them at both 99 Ranch and Hawaii Supermarket in what I believe is San Gabriel.

[perk]

I just saw french ones at the big Thai market on Hollywood Blvd., just east of Western.
It's a great place for ingredients at great prices.

[Das Ubergeek]

Any 99 Ranch.

[The Chowhound Team]

Hi ssackett, we try to keep our local boards like L.A focused on where to source ingredients and prepared food in this region. Likewise, the Home Cooking board's focus is where we handle recipes and tips for making food yourself. There's a rich archive of discussion about kaffir lime leaves that you can search, but feel free to start a new discussion here:

http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/31

[Servorg]

Check with Hawaii Super Market or the 99 Ranch Market basically across the street from Hawaii Super Market. Recipes are discussed over on the Home Cooking board found here: http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/31

Hawaii Super Market
1702 S Del Mar Ave, San Gabriel, CA
[phone]

99 Ranch Market
140 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
[phone]
www.99ranch.com