麻豆社

Sometimes called makrut lime leaves, these are the fragrant leaves of the wild lime tree and are used widely in Thai and South East Asian cuisine in the same way as bay leaves are used in the West. The double leaves are joined tip to end, creating an unusual figure-of-eight shape. They have a spicy, lemony flavour and give a distinctive citrus scent to soups and curries. They are becoming more widely available, both fresh and dried, but substitute lemongrass if you can鈥檛 find them.