Thai green curry - help needed!

[Pinkie]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm new and was hoping you might be able to help!
I made a thai green curry paste last night to use this evening, but am wondering about the lemongrass issue. It's hand-ground in a pestle and mortar so it's not a shop standard superfine paste, especially the lemongrass - there are still quite large strands of lemongrass that haven't broken down a lot. I'm a bit worried about people getting it stuck in their teeth etc, so wondered what the best practice is here? Should I use the paste to infuse the cocont milk, then strain it? Just serve as it is and warn people? Or should I attempt to make it into a bouquet garni affair in some muslin or maybe a tea ball? Thanks in advance!!

Pinkie x

 

[Linux]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm new and was hoping you might be able to help!
I made a thai green curry paste last night to use this evening, but am wondering about the lemongrass issue. It's hand-ground in a pestle and mortar so it's not a shop standard superfine paste, especially the lemongrass - there are still quite large strands of lemongrass that haven't broken down a lot. I'm a bit worried about people getting it stuck in their teeth etc, so wondered what the best practice is here? Should I use the paste to infuse the cocont milk, then strain it? Just serve as it is and warn people? Or should I attempt to make it into a bouquet garni affair in some muslin or maybe a tea ball? Thanks in advance!!

Pinkie x

Hiya Pinkie, welcome to DC.


.. Well, what I would do is remove any tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and cut off the bulb. Thinly slice the lower half of the stalk - the upper half can be discarded, or, cut into long segments and added to the curry for extra flavour. Then, chop the slices with your knife to mince, or pound with your pestle & mortar.

By removing the lemongrass' tough outer layer, none of the softer inner stuff should get in teeth. However, you could, instead of using fresh lemongrass, substitute the fresh lemongrass for 3 tablespoons frozen prepared lemongrass, that should be freely available in Asian grocers' shops.

Hope that helps.

 

[Pinkie]

Hiya Pinkie, welcome to DC.


.. Well, what I would do is remove any tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and cut off the bulb. Thinly slice the lower half of the stalk - the upper half can be discarded, or, cut into long segments and added to the curry for extra flavour. Then, chop the slices with your knife to mince, or pound with your pestle & mortar.

By removing the lemongrass' tough outer layer, none of the softer inner stuff should get in teeth. However, you could, instead of using fresh lemongrass, substitute the fresh lemongrass for 3 tablespoons frozen prepared lemongrass, that should be freely available in Asian grocers' shops.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for that! I was unable to find fresh lemongrass so I bought a jar of freeze-dried stalks. I think what I'll probably do I cook the sauce down a while to get the flavours infused, and then strain it before adding the veg to cook. I'm going to chuck a load of fresh chopped herbs in before serving anyway, so the sauce will have some texture. Hmmm. Or maybe I could just fish out the bigger strands? I don't want a perfectly clear sauce really........

 

[Linux]

Sounds like a nice sauce with all those rustic flavours going on. I like sauce with texture, makes the food so much more interesting. The freeze-dried stalks should be okay, though if you feel you need to fish out the bigger strands if necessary, do it. Don't fret, am sure it'll turn out just fine.