Bai makrut is the leaf of the kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix), called ใบมะกรูด in Thai. Its citrus scent is sharper and stronger than that of lemon or lime, and it is used to perfume soups and curries in Thai cooking.

Thai traditional medicine is said to have treated it as a cooling herb, and it is recorded as having been used in the care of teeth and gums. The kaffir lime is also reported to have been treated as a carminative herb in Thailand.

In the herbal sauna op samun phrai, steaming the leaves fills the room with a sharp, fresh citrus scent. At home the leaf goes into tom yum goong and curries, into herbal tea, and into a herbal bath.

This is an English summary. The full article was written in Japanese. Original article in Japanese →