The market · Herbs and aromatics · Southeast Asia
Turmeric leaves
Daun kunyit: the long leaf of the turmeric plant, with a fresh, gingery perfume — tied in a knot and simmered in rendang and gulai.
fragrant · green · warm
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Southeast Asian grocers, usually frozen. No real swap; leave it out rather than use something else.
- Worth knowing
- Bruise it or tie it in a knot so it gives its scent to the coconut milk.
Kitchens that keep it in
West Sumatra, IndonesiaMinangkabauThe cooking of the Minang highlands: chilli, coconut and time, and the source of the Padang restaurants found across Indonesia and Malaysia.10 classics · 3 cooked hereMinahasa, North Sulawesi, IndonesiaMinahasanThe cooking of Sulawesi's northern tip: fierce with fresh chilli, green with herbs, full of skipjack tuna from the Celebes Sea, and with a few Dutch cakes kept from long ago.9 classics
