Lemongrass

[*amy*]

Tell me everything you know. I have never worked w or seen it up close and personal. Is it sold seasonally, do you use the entire stalk & grass (like a green onion), is the flavor very lemon-y, prep method, any recipes you like? Read it comes in powdered form? and frozen? Anyone tried either of those? (Did some reading on the web and a search here, but don't think I saw a similar thread - all its own.) I found a few recipes I would like to try (will post the links when I round 'em up). Thanks in advance.

 

[kitchenelf]

I've only used frozen lemongrass. It looks like sliced spring onions but you can certainly tell by smelling it's not! It has a wonderful citrus scent. I use mine in Thai food. Thai mussels with red curry, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, chile peppers, coconut milk, lemongrass of course , a little fish sauce....

 

[GrillingFool]

I am new to the stuff too!
It has a great lemon flavor, subtle but definitely there.

The grass is fibrous, so chopping finely and grinding in
a mortar and pestle is a good prep method.

I have seen it recently in the squeeze tube spices in the
produce section, too.

So far I have used it to marinate fish and beef, as well as in
sauce flavorings for a couple of dishes.

It is also used quite a lot in Vietnamese cooking.

So, can fresh lemongrass be frozen, I wonder? I have some that I need
to use or freeze. Think I will try freezing it.

 

[*amy*]

I've only used frozen lemongrass. It looks like sliced spring onions but you can certainly tell by smelling it's not! It has a wonderful citrus scent. I use mine in Thai food. Thai mussels with red curry, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, chile peppers, coconut milk, lemongrass of course , a little fish sauce....

Glad you jumped in. In one of the threads (what are you having for dinner) you mentioned marinating something-or-other in lemongrass with something-or-other, and I wanted to ask (but forgot at the time, what you were making. Where do find the frozen lemongrass, and how does one work with it/prepare it? TIA

 

[*amy*]

I am new to the stuff too!
It has a great lemon flavor, subtle but definitely there.

The grass is fibrous, so chopping finely and grinding in
a mortar and pestle is a good prep method.

I have seen it recently in the squeeze tube spices in the
produce section, too.

So far I have used it to marinate fish and beef, as well as in
sauce flavorings for a couple of dishes.

It is also used quite a lot in Vietnamese cooking.

So, can fresh lemongrass be frozen, I wonder? I have some that I need
to use or freeze. Think I will try freezing it.

Thanks GF. One recipe I had in mind is for steamed fish (may need to ask a question about that later), and another is a Thai roasted chicken. A squeeze tube - I will see if I can find that. Good to know. Thank you.

 

[jennyema]

I grow it every year in my garden. I have two ENORMOUS plants that I need to split. Last year I split them and killed one ..

Lemongrass has a distinctive lemony, woody, taste. Not really like lemons but bright and citrus. You'll know it's taste if you've had Thai food.

It comes in a stalk. Much like a leek, there is a white end part trailing off to tough green leaves. Only the white part is edible, really, but you can use the leaves to flavor broths. Even the white part is very fibrous, so if you are going to eat it, it needs to be finely minced. Often lemongrass, like kaffir lime leaves, is used to infuse something with flavor and then removed.

It's a common ingredient in Thai curry pastes. A common ingredient in many southeast asian dishes.

Dry lemongrass is horrible, IMO. It's nothing at all like fresh and totally worthless as a substitute.

You can freeze fresh lemongrass. That's what I do. I grow a lot of it and freeze it for the winter. I am lucky enough to live near a huge asian market that sells it dirt-cheap year round, though.

You can also take a stalk of lemongrass and stick it in water and root it and grow it, but it needs very warm weather.

If you can find it fresh or frozen, I'd look for that. I would avoid a squeeze tube, if I could, because the lemongrass is mixed with something to make it form a paste.

You can find lemongrass in pretty much any asian market that carries produce. Whole Foods sells it too.

 

[Loprraine]

Not sure where you are in the US, but I've grown lemongrass a few times. I can buy it year round in our grocery stores, and have also seen it in a tube. Family recently came back from Bangkok, and brought me some dried and powdered. ( haven't tried it yet). I like it in chicken soup, and use it often in soya based marinades for chicken or pork, and in dumpling fillings. Have fun!!

 

[*amy*]

I grow it every year in my garden. I have two ENORMOUS plants that I need to split. Last year I split them and killed one ..

Lemongrass has a distinctive lemony, woody, taste. Not really like lemons but bright and citrus. You'll know it's taste if you've had Thai food.

It comes in a stalk. Much like a leek, there is a white end part trailing off to tough green leaves. Only the white part is edible, really, but you can use the leaves to flavor broths. Even the white part is very fibrous, so if you are going to eat it, it needs to be finely minced. Often lemongrass, like kaffir lime leaves, is used to infuse something with flavor and then removed.

It's a common ingredient in Thai curry pastes. A common ingredient in many southeast asian dishes.

Dry lemongrass is horrible, IMO. It's nothing at all like fresh and totally worthless as a substitute.

You can freeze fresh lemongrass. That's what I do. I grow a lot of it and freeze it for the winter. I am lucky enough to live near a huge asian market that sells it dirt-cheap year round, though.

You can also take a stalk of lemongrass and stick it in water and root it and grow it, but it needs very warm weather.

If you can find it fresh or frozen, I'd look for that. I would avoid a squeeze tube, if I could, because the lemongrass is mixed with something to make it form a paste.

You can find lemongrass in pretty much any asian market that carries produce. Whole Foods sells it too.

Great info (as usual), jenny. There's a whole foods (& Trader Joe's) near me. Is LG available all year long?

Here's one of the recipes I had in mind:

Roast Chicken - Roast Lemongrass Chicken Recipe

And another using LG, I would like to try for steamed fish:

Steamed Fish - Easy Thai Steamed Fish Recipe

This one doesn't include LG, but wondering if I could incorporate it here & make lemon/lime/ginger steamed salmon or shrimp:

Lime-Steamed Salmon


K'elf would love your marinade recipe. TIA

 

[kitchenelf]

amy - I'll search for the recipe in a few minutes - it's not a marinade but a liquid I cook the mussels in and then dip chunks of bread in the liquid!

 

[jennyema]

Amy,

I am not sure if lemongrass is available year round at WF but I suspect so. It's sort of expensive there, so if you have access to an asian market I'd look there first. And I'd call WF first.

All of those recipes look delicious. I think lemongrass would work well with the lime salmon/shrimp.

If you can find kaffir lime leaves, they are wonderful. Galangal and ginger don't taste that much like each other, IMO, but ginger is an ok sub. The lime leaves and galangal are probably only found at asian markets.

Don't throw away the lemongrass leaves. Simmer them in some chix broth or water with some garlic, scallion and ginger and a hot pepper and cilantro if you like those. For maybe an hour. Strain and then add fish sauce and lime juice to taste and you have a tasty broth that can be made into Tom Kar Gai or Tom Yum soup.

 

[*amy*]

Amy,

I am not sure if lemongrass is available year round at WF but I suspect so. It's sort of expensive there, so if you have access to an asian market I'd look there first. And I'd call WF first.

All of those recipes look delicious. I think lemongrass would work well with the lime salmon/shrimp.

If you can find kaffir lime leaves, they are wonderful. Galangal and ginger don't taste that much like each other, IMO, but ginger is an ok sub. The lime leaves and galangal are probably only found at asian markets.

Don't throw away the lemongrass leaves. Simmer them in some chix broth or water with some garlic, scallion and ginger and a hot pepper and cilantro if you like those. For maybe an hour. Strain and then add fish sauce and lime juice to taste and you have a tasty broth that can be made into Tom Kar Gai or Tom Yum soup.

The soup sounds delish too. Thank you.

 

[KellySeven]

I like to bruise the stem (white part) with the flat of a knife and throw it in with steamed rice or in a pilaf and discard before serving.

 

[Claire]

I can get lemon grass on occaision at my Asian grocery, but not all the time. When I do I smash the white end, peel and chop in fine, then freeze. When I lived in Florida and Hawaii, I always grew some in my yard. Boy was I spoiled. In Hawaii I also had a kaffir lime tree. Yummmy. If you are doing something that is stew-like (curries, etc) (in other words, something that you're going to slow cook), you can smash the lemongrass and leave it in for flavor, then pull it out before serving.

Here I can only rarely get kaffir leaves or lemon grass, and instead zest a little lemon skin and lime skin. Not the same, but you've got to make do some times.

 

[ironchef]

I love working with lemongrass. For a twist on fresh shucked oysters, make a mignonette of minced ginger, lemongrass, garlic, thai chilis, cilantro, rice wine vinegar, and white wine vinegar. Like Jenny said, use the white part only and make sure that is is finely minced.

 

[KellySeven]

Another thing you can do is slice it lengthways and use it as a skewer for prawns - gently, gently.

 

[Caine]

If I'm using it just to flavor something and not going to actually consume it, I just bruise the stalk. Otherwise, I peel it before chopping or mincing it But then, I peel celery before chopping or mincing it, too.

 

[GrillingFool]

Last night I took 3 stalks, 3 garlic cloves, 1/3 cup Fish Sauce, 1/3 cup sugar,
3 dried chilis, a bit of salt and pepper and oil and tossed it all in the food
processor.

Then I marinated some round steak in it for a few hours, after which I
grilled the meat.

Sliced it thin, served it over a Vietnamese noodle recipe I found.

Really really good! The spicy of the meat nicely complimented the sweet tangy
of the noodles!