Lemongrass

[chappie]

(Originally posted, incorrectly, in China forum)

We live in Maryland and both my dad and I have big clumps of lemongrass in our yards. I use it from time to time in cooking, grilling fish, etc. and for the past three years have forgotten to harvest it all before the first frost, which renders the stalks and leaves useless.

Does anyone have ideas for ways I could use large quantities of both the lower, oily stalk and the leaves? In the past I've ground up the leaves finely in a food processor as an ingredient in a rub for grilled fish.

What about green curry paste? I would love to make a ton of it and freeze it if possible. Any recipes involving copious amounts of lemongrass?

If this would be best posted elsewhere, then please advise also. Otherwise, I look forward to your ideas.

[The Old Foodie]

I make this lemon grass paste - usually keep it in the fridge with a layer of oil on top, but I'm sure it would freeze OK.

2- 3 stalks lemon grass

2x1 inch piece ginger, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, slices

3 shallots, sliced

chillies to taste

3 tablespoons chopped coriander stems

1 tablespoon coarse soalt

oil - about 5 tablespoons

Chop/blend it all to a smooth-ish puree, with 2 tabs of the oil.

Store in a jar with the rest of the oil on top.

Use it wherever your culinary imagination suggests.

Janet

[PPPans]

A simple chicken soup with a clear broth:

1 kg. chicken (more or less, as you please)

a gallon of water

1 large stalk of lemongrass

salt to taste

Clean whole lemongrass. Fold it in three and tie it with one of the leaves. Bruise the lower white stalk towards the roots. Drop it in the water with the chicken and salt. Under low fire, simmer for around an hour. Keep adding water if you want a lot of the soup. You can add a few ears of corn if you desire.

[ludja]

This vinegar from Barbara Tropp in "China Moon" is nice:

Lemongrass Serrano Vinegar

[Peter Green]

Infuse some oils, William Ledeuil is doing lemongrass in almost everything.

Make some ice cream.

Make some vegetable and chicken stocks, and freeze them for later.

Dry out the lemon grass, and use them later as skewers for prawns. This passes some of the smell and flavour into the meat when you steam or grill.

And, last but not least, just freeze some bundles of it. If you're looking for the flavour, this can work well, as the freeze thaw will break down the structure and release more of the essence (as with ginger). It won't work as a salad ingredient, but is great for flavourings.

[Domestic Goddess]

I agree with Peter Green. I store frozen lemongrass in my freezer for my grilled lemongrass chicken. Lemongrass freezes well for a couple of months at least.

[Catriona]

Dry it for use as an infusion/tea. Nice and warming in winter, you can mix it and ginger for a real kick when you have a cold.

[Pan]

A simple chicken soup with a clear broth:

1 kg. chicken (more or less, as you please)

a gallon of water

1 large stalk of lemongrass

salt to taste

Clean whole lemongrass. Fold it in three and tie it with one of the leaves. Bruise the lower white stalk towards the roots. Drop it in the water with the chicken and salt. Under low fire, simmer for around an hour. Keep adding water if you want a lot of the soup. You can add a few ears of corn if you desire.

←

There was lemongrass growing in the side yard of the house we rented in rural Terengganu, Malaysia from 1975-77. Our landlady/cook (yes, she had both roles) made so much chicken soup with lemongrass that we snipped all the usable grass in a few weeks, and that was it. As I recall, she also used finely minced shallots and a mix of aromatic spices (probably including fresh turmeric) and finely minced fresh ginger. I don't believe there was any hot pepper in the soup, which had a layer of fat but was very soothing, like chicken soup should be. Oh yes, I think there were daikons (lobak) in the soup. Oddly enough, the locals didn't seem to be using lemongrass much in those days.

[PPPans]

Hi Pan,

That's the basic recipe above. You can layer it with other spices and greens if desired.

Not sure how it is in Malaysia but in the Philippines, lemongrass is definitely used but not everyday. There aren't too many recipes with it that I know of.

[Pan]

We'll probably get some input from Malaysians, but I am guessing that, because Malaysian cuisine -- and especially East-Coast cuisine -- has been suffused with Thai influence in the last x number of years, lemongrass is probably being used more in Malaysia nowadays.

As I recall, my parents recognized the lemongrass from photos they had seen, and they had to tell our landlady that it was good to eat.

Her chicken soup was good without the lemongrass, too, however. Very tasty blend of spices, good village chicken (yardbirds that were always truly free-range and organic, never fenced in).

[PPPans]

Yes, that's it! What we call 'native' chickens, the older the better, is what is best for that soup.

Lemongrass is also used to stuff whole roasted pigs and to add that extra flavour to vinegar-stewed fish.

[PCL]

During a recent trip to Bali, we managed to try some tasty beverage concoctions containing lemongrass.

One was a honey-sweetened tea with lemongrass infused. Very very refreshing.

Another was a blend of pineapple, young coconut water, and lemongrass and ginger. In the morning, a fantastic hangover cure.

There was also a lemongrass infusion served with some spicy dishes, but these dishes were Sudanese, not Balinese, but alas, lemongrass tea was a palate soother.

[Pan]

[...]Lemongrass is also used to stuff whole roasted pigs and to add that extra flavour to vinegar-stewed fish.

←

Wow, those dishes sound incredible!

[Domestic Goddess]

Lemongrass-Ginger Chicken (Chicken Inasal) grilling ...

Chicken Inasal with garlic fried rice and roasted eggplant salad.

[chappie]

I make this lemon grass paste - usually keep it in the fridge with a layer of oil on top, but I'm sure it would freeze OK.

2- 3 stalks lemon grass

2x1 inch piece ginger, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, slices

3 shallots, sliced

chillies to taste

3 tablespoons chopped coriander stems

1 tablespoon coarse soalt

oil - about 5 tablespoons

Chop/blend it all to a smooth-ish puree, with 2 tabs of the oil.

Store in a jar with the rest of the oil on top.

Use it wherever your culinary imagination suggests.

Janet

←

OK... first, by "coriander stems" ... is that cilantro? Second, which type of oil should I use? I do not like canola; can I use peanut?

Also, and this applies both to this recipe and the others suggested, but can I use the upper, thin part of the stalk or are you talking about just the inner part of the base.

I would love to find uses for all of it, even if it means doing a bunch of separating first...

[chappie]

Well, so far I have made chicken soup with lemongrass, processed two big jars of a sort of green curry paste, stuck several sticks in a bottle of vodka for the freezer, added it to some limoncello already marinating, made lemongrass white balasamic vinegar -- and with it some vinaigrettes, and frozen a bunch more.

Oh yeah, I boiled a bunch down, then reduced the liquid, but this doesn't taste as good as I'd hoped.

[The Old Foodie]

I make this lemon grass paste - usually keep it in the fridge with a layer of oil on top, but I'm sure it would freeze OK.

2- 3 stalks lemon grass

2x1 inch piece ginger, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, slices

3 shallots, sliced

chillies to taste

3 tablespoons chopped coriander stems

1 tablespoon coarse soalt

oil - about 5 tablespoons

Chop/blend it all to a smooth-ish puree, with 2 tabs of the oil.

Store in a jar with the rest of the oil on top.

Use it wherever your culinary imagination suggests.

Janet

←

OK... first, by "coriander stems" ... is that cilantro? Second, which type of oil should I use? I do not like canola; can I use peanut?

Also, and this applies both to this recipe and the others suggested, but can I use the upper, thin part of the stalk or are you talking about just the inner part of the base.

I would love to find uses for all of it, even if it means doing a bunch of separating first...

←

Hello chappie - sorry for the delay, I "lost" this thread.

Yes, coriander = cilantro.

Yes, the stalks (including the leaves) are what are used here, not the white root (although I am sure they would work just fine).

Any oil is good.

I hope it turned out OK.

Janet

[Dora S]

Lemongrass makes a really nice and refreshing beverage! Just get a bunch of stalks, crush the bulbs with the side of a cleaver, chop them in half and let boil in a pot of water. Lower heat and simmer for approximately 15-30 minutes. Add in some knots of pandan/screwpine leaves for extra fragrance (optional) and finally add some rock sugar or white sugar (to taste). Let cool and sieve out the stalks. Pour into tall glasses filled with ice cubes and enjoy! Goes really well with spicy Thai cuisine and makes a good conversation starter at parties when people cannot figure out what they are drinking and yet enjoy the taste

[GTO]

I just got my first bunch of lemongrass ever today and I can't wait to try it out tonight. Am I right in thinking that if crushed and extremely finely chopped, it can be stir fried along with other aromats such as ginger?

Also, I'm definately going to try it as a drink, Dora S.

Here it is anyway, in all it's glory, photographed on my shirt, lol.

[Kouign Aman]

I wonder if it would be good as a skewer for chicken satay?

[heidih]

Certainly worth a try. Since it is so tough I wonder if the flavor would penetrate. Perhaps if sliced lengthwise exposing the released scent.

[et alors]

and, of course, they make great skewers for satay and the like...