lemon grass question

with lemon grass if you've got it fresh, just remove the top and outer tough leaves and finely chop or grind the bottom tender parts. Its great in asian style stir fries and curries, I like to make a spice paste with shrimp paste,onion,ginger,chillies and lemon grass and use it as a base for vege or meat curries.

You have to be careful...

The stalks can be pretty inedible if you don't prepare them properly.

The technique that I know of is to place the flat end of a wide blade knife or cleaver on it and bash the heck out of it. Then finely chop or mince.

It's used in a wide variety of coconut based Thai dishes. Very nice unless you get that tough stalk.

April

Sometimes even the tougher parts outer layers are used just as bones are used to make stock. You need to decide what you want to make in order to determine how best to utilize which parts of the stalk.

I used a REAL fine paste of lemongrass in a crust for a halibut dish, if I can find the recipe I'll be sure to type it up and do so (doubt it'll be soon, I'm still trying to find places to unpack my stuff to).

Just be sure to either leave the pieces big so they know NOT to eat them, or puree that stuff so hardcore that a microscope couldn't identify it.

When to use lemon grass

Asian uses lots of lemon grass in their cooking especially Tom Yum soup. If you want to make a stock out of lemon grass don't boil it for too long it will taste bitterl . You need a very strong(heavy duty) blender to blend the lemon grass very fine and use it in making all sorts of curry or spicy dishes. Ther is also lemon grass powder sold in Thailand.

it makes a great aromatic addition to a simple syrup

Lemon grass

Use only about 4 inches of the young white section of the lemon grass.
You can smash it bruised with a heavy object, then saute it in oil and with other spices if you are using, on low fire for approximately one minute until you can get the smell of the lemon grass. If you are cooking soup or curry, you can leave it in the stock but remove it before serving.

Although some recipes require you to grind the lemon grass fine, it is hard and the pulp can be rather rough and unpleasant to the tongue. The alternative is to smash it bruised and it gives the same results as having it grounded. However, if you must grind it, it is best to put the lemon grass in a muslin bag.

A stalk of two is sufficient for a normal meal.

If you like to try out Tom Yum soup, I have my recipe here:-

http://deliciousasianfood.blogspot.c...7/tom-yam.html

Of course, lemon grass makes a nice herbal tea.

There is a, American brand of Thai ingredients that makes dried, powdered lemon grass. Of course, it's not quite as good as fresh for flavoring liquids, but it works well in the type of dish Blade 55440 mentions.

I just read a tip somewhere about tying the stalk in a knot after you smash it, to prevent shreds of the fibers from breaking off. Sounds helpful!

Thai recipe using lemon grass

Here's a recipe for a delicious Thai soup called "Gai Dom Kha' that uses lemon grass.

4 cup water
1 can 13.5 oz coconut milk 4-5 Kaffir lime leaves (torn) 1 stalk Lemon Grass (cut and crushed) 3-4 pieces of sliced fresh or dried Galangal 1- 1/2 lbs chicken meat cut into bite size pieces Dark or white meat ok) 1 tbsp fish sauce 2 cups white button mushrooms 2 cups fresh cabbage (cut into bite size pieces) optional
2 limes
3 tbsp of Chili paste in soya bean oil (Nam Prik Pao )
4 tbsp fish sauce
3 to 4 red Chili peppers and a cup of Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Boil 4 cups of water in a large pot over medium high heat.
When the liquid starts boiling add 4 to 5 pieces of fresh or dry Galangal (Thais call it Kha.) Add lemon grass stalk (cut the lemon grass into 3 inch long pieces and crush them first to bring out the flavor)
Add 4 to 5 Kaffir lime leaves. (Tear the leaves apart to bring out the aroma)
Add 1 tablespoon of fish salt
Add 1 ½ pounds of sliced chicken meat (dark or white meat ok)
Cook the chicken about half way through.
Add 2 cups of mushrooms (optional) If they’re the big kind you can cut them in half…. otherwise use the whole mushrooms.
Add 2 cups of cabbage cut up into bite sized pieces (optional)
Cover and cook until the chicken meat is done

Add 2 cups of coconut milk, stir and turn the heat off.
Remove all the kaffir lime leaves, galangal pieces and the lemon grass stalk. (too tough to eat)

Into a small bowl squeeze two fresh limes
Add about 3 tablespoons of Chili paste in soya bean oil (Nam Prik Pao). If you don't like it too spicy, use less..or skip it altogether
Add 4 tabelspoons of fish sauce Now stir the seasoning mixture into the soup (or mix it in just before you serve the soup.)
Garnish the soup with cilantro leaves and red chili peppers

The instructions sounds a bit complicated so I'll return and post the "how to" video when I can.
But this is a delicious thai soup with a spicey sour, salty, lemon flavor that western people seem to love