On our food tour on the street of Hanoi, one of our travelers brought us some fresh Makrut leaves they had been holding on to them from Bangkok. Makrut leaves (also known as kaffir lime leaves) are different from regular limes in that they are very bitter with bumpy skin. In Thai, makrut mean bumpy skin. Its unique flavors are difficult to substitute, so if you can’t find kaffir lime leaves, skip it altogether in your recipes.
With the fresh leaves, we shopped the necessary ingredients from the street market in Hanoi Old Quarter, and made our own Vietnamese mule at the hotel. If you want to try this interesting drink, this is the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
- 50ml vodka bottle
- 5 makrut lime leaves
- 3 mint leaves
- ½ oz coconut nigori sake
- ½ oz lime juice
- 3 oz ginger beer
- Coconut flakes
STEPS
- Rip the 5 makrut lime leaves and add to the 50ml vodka bottle. Let sit in the fridge for about 10 days and stir occasionally (we didn’t wait for this step, instead we move straight to step 2 after adding the leaves to the vodka).
- Muddle 3 mint leaves and mix the vodka, ½ oz of sake, and ½ oz of lime juice.
- Strain into a mug and fill with ice. Top wit ginger beer and garnish with coconut flakes.
- Add the vodka, sake and lime juice to a copper mug filled with ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with lime wheel and coconut flakes.
There you go. That’s how to make Vietnamese mule for 1 person, with total 10 minutes preparation. We hope you enjoy making the drink at home, and please contact us if there is anything we can help.
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