The EXIF data of the photos say 2017-03-28. The beginning of the dry and hot season on a year when our first kaffir lime tree was generously providing us with fruits and leaves. I can understand why both the fruit juice and the leaves ended up in our food.
Unfortunately, that tree perished a few years back. But during the years it bore fruit, there were often more kaffir limes than we could harvest on time. A few fell to the ground. As the flesh decomposed, the seeds germinated. Today, we have two small kaffir lime trees, about four feet tall, but they’re too young to bear fruits.
If you’re curious about kaffir lime, I have a post about it — fruit, juice, leaves and tree.
How to cook with kaffir limes and leaves
Called makrut in Thailand, the fruits and leaves of the kaffir lime are used in Southeast Asian cooking. The leaves and fruit rind emit an intense citrusy aroma. The fruit juice is sour just like the juice of lime from the northern hemisphere.
The fruit juice and leaves are used in the chicken marinade in this recipe. The ingredients list include one pair of kaffir lime leaves and how it should be prepped.
Kaffir lime leaves come in pairs. The rib which is more fibrous (almost woody, in fact) is pulled off and discarded and the leaves are either left whole or cut into small pieces depending on the recipe.
Chili lime chicken and pineapple skewers
Ingredients
- 400 grams chicken thigh fillets (with or without skin)
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice you may substitute lemon juice or calamansi juice
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 2 bird’s eye chilies finely sliced
- 1 one-inch knob ginger peeled and grated
- 4 cloves garlic grated
- 1 pair kaffir lime leaves rib discarded, and leafy sides thinly sliced
- 1 large red onion
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 to 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
- 10 to 15 bamboo skewers
Instructions
- Pat the chicken fillets dry with paper towels. Cut into bite-size cubes. Place in a bowl.
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water to prevent them from catching fire on the grill.
- Make the marinade. In a small jar, pour in the fish sauce and lime juice. Add the sugar, chilies, ginger, garlic and kaffir lime leaves. Cover the jar tightly and shake until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour marinade into the chicken. Mix well. Cover the bowl and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the onion and cut into eighths. Pull apart to separate the layers.
- Deseed the bell peppers and cut into pieces the same size as the onion.
- Drain the bamboo skewers. Thread the marinated chicken alternately with pineapple chunks, bell peppers and onion.
- Grill the spicy chicken pineapple skewers at least six inches from the heat. Use the leftover marinade to brush the meat and vegetables during grilling.
- Grill for four to five minutes per side and baste occasionally. Again, don't keep turning them so they can cook properly.
- Serve the chili lime chicken pineapple skewers by themselves as an appetizer or finger food, or serve as a main dish with rice on the side.
