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I made some rhubarb syrup. Again. This time I used chopped up lemongrass stalks instead of the ginger and I added a peppermint garnish to it.
Whenever I find rhubarb on the shelves, I almost always buy most of it. Because there is so much to be done with it! I’m still in awe of how the very robust stalks transform to a delicate mush. And the pink? The enticing baby pink of the syrup is hard to pass up. Make it.
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I love the smell of lemongrass: fresh, clean and zesty. My favourite way to use it up is in this lemongrass drink that I learned from one of my favorite local restaurants. Back then, lemongrass was a hard-to-find ingredient and since I’d never tried it in a drink, it was difficult for me to figure what the chef had added to a mundane sweet soda. The waiter was kind enough to share the recipe, and now I can make it myself at home. Now I’m even more thrilled because I can have my favourite drink whenever I want because I finally grow my own lemongrass!
And you know the good news? Growing lemongrass is child’s play. All you need to do is plonk the stalks that you buy at the supermarket into a jar filled with about an inch or so of water and just watch it grow! Within just two days you will see the roots sprout and you know you’re on your way to a bountiful lemongrass garden. Just a pot or two will do the trick, so even for those of you who, like me, live in apartments, growing your own lemongrass is so easy.
Just keep changing the water every day or every second day at most. In about three to four weeks, the lemongrass would have grown about 2 inches of roots. Now is when you can transfer the lemongrass sapling to the soil. Keep it watered well, but make sure the soil isn’t soaked in water. It can withstand a good amount of sunlight as well.
Have a look at these weekly progress photos in case, just like me, you didn’t believe that growing lemongrass could be this easy:
Oh, and here’s an old post I had written back in 2007 about lemongrass. What’s special to me about that post is that it was the first ever post on PurpleFoodie.com!
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The fragrance of lemongrass never ceases to refresh me. Lemongrass has a distinct taste of its own. A little woody but not quite lemony. You’ll know it’s taste if you’ve had Thai food. I’m not too fond of Thai food, but I love using lemongrass in my cooking.
It comes in a stalk. Much like a leek, there is a white end part trailing off to tough green leaves that tends to prick at times. Usually the white part is used in cooking, but you can use the leaves for flavouring broths. It also adds an excellent flavour to tea.
I enjoy things that are versatile and that can add character to a dish and in my opinion, lemongrass is exactly that. By simply bruising the fleshy part of the leave the oils are released. Adding this to steamed rice, gives it an incredibly zesty flavour.
Lemongrass is extremely fibrous, so some people chop it finely and grind in a mortar and pestle. I prefer slicing it and then pounding it lightly before cooking. This way the flavour gets infused and they can be discarded before eating.
A chef of a South East Asian restaurant once told me that while making satay, I could use a trimmed stalk of lemongrass instead of the regular wooden skewers to add flavour to the meat.
There are so many ways in which lemongrass can be used. You could add it a part of bouquet garni or you could give grilled foods an aromatic smokiness by scattering sliced lemongrass over hot coals or on top of the gas burners before putting food on the grill.
Another thing I discovered is that you can also take a stalk of lemongrass and place it in water and then root it and grow it.
Here is a recipe for a refreshing lemongrass drink that’s awfully simple to make!
2 stalks of lemongrass
500ml Soda (Sprite, 7Up)
Mint leaves to garnish
Make a paste of the lemongrass (use the entire thing, along with leaves) with water. Strain it. Add it to the soda. Garnish with mint leaves. Make sure to use the paste as soon as it is ready, else the colour will change to a dull green very quickly.
Update 16 April 2010!
I wrote a small post today on how you can grow your own lemongrass in the comfort of your own home with barely any effort or space constraints.
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