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!
Lemongrass Soda Recipe
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.