Lemongrass Everything

About author / Amy Powell

World traveler; gourmet 30 minute meals; lover of exotic ingredients; winner on FoodTV's Chefs vs City; graduate French Culinary Institute. Her recipes will tantalize your taste buds.

You’ve probably been to this restaurant before. The Vaguely-Southeast-Asian place where the menu expands to biblical length. It starts with appetizers and soups moving on to noodles and rice before tackling each protein in existence, from land and sea. It does not seem possible, you might think, that this restaurant could excel in each of these line items.

Upon closer inspection of this epic menu you might find some common themes running between categories. Maybe it is a type of curry or the combination of chili and basil. Undoubtedly one ingredient you will see time and again is lemongrass.

Again, you might wonder, could this lemongrass thing really be universally adaptable to all the proteins in which this restaurant claims proficiency? I have good news for you. It is.

It is hard to believe that such an unwieldy ingredient could find such universal purpose. But I’m here to tell you that, yes, lemongrass works as well seasoning shrimp and squid as it does pork, beef, and chicken.

Cymbopogon, the scientific name for lemongrass, encompasses a genus of fifty-five, tall perennial grasses. Many of these are used for medicinal purposes or as insect repellent. However the kind best known around the world today is the one used to flavor everything from teas and soups to curries and stir-fry.

The increasing use of lemongrass in the home kitchen can be gauged by its relatively wide availability (If the standard grocery store in my small hometown stocks it regularly, I consider it to have entered the mainstream). But even if you cannot find this hardy, long grass in the vegetable section of your market, lemongrass can also be used in a dried or powdered form and is easily found in online specialty stores.

Ideally, you want fresh lemongrass in all its woody glory. Though a full stick can sometimes push over two feet in length, the edible part that you are looking for is the tender interior in the bulbous bottom portion.

Releasing the full potential of the lemongrass stalk requires a bit of elbow grease and a dose of patience. To start, trim off and discard the dried out top portion and just a bit of the hard end. Next, use the blunt back end of the knife to whack the lemongrass up and down the length of the stalk. This bruising will help release the essential oils trapped in the grass. Peel off and discard any hard outer layers. Next, slice the tender inner part in long, skinny slices. Then cut crosswise to create a fine mince. This is hard work! But the reward is perfectly minced lemongrass ready for any recipe.

I tend to keep a stalk or two in the refrigerator at all times ready to go for any last minute dinner recipes. I recently stir-fried shallots, ginger, garlic, and chilies with a quarter cup of minced lemongrass (about two stalks). I added thinly sliced chicken, asparagus, and corn with some fish sauce and a pinch of sugar. It was a springtime stir-fry but the fragrance of lemongrass, ginger, shallots and chilies was worthy of any season. And as great as it tasted with chicken, it would have worked just as well with shrimp, pork, or even skirt steak. It’s nothing that all those Asian restaurants haven’t known for a long time.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 2 shallots
• 1 piece (1 x 2 inch size) fresh ginger
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
• 1/2 bunch asparagus
• 1 ear corn
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or mint