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      Singapore Recipes

Lemongrass – how to use it

lemongrass, bottom half, bruised and sliced

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Table of contents

  • What is Lemongrass
  • How to Use Lemongrass
    • Whole 
    • Thinly sliced and Pounded
  • Recipes using Lemongrass
  • Other Uses for Lemongrass

What is Lemongrass

Lemongrass is an edible grass, a herb used very widely in Asian cuisine and is also known as:

  • citronella grass
  •  barbed wire grass
  • serai in Malay and countless other names in the various countries it’s used in.

It’s flavour? Citrusy, sweet and spicy and used just as commonly in savoury and as in sweet recipes.

How to Use Lemongrass

As the  flavour is concentrated in the thicker bulb end, we only use the bottom half of the lemongrass stalk – whole, pounded or in thin slices.

Whole 

Cut off a small piece at the bottom and remove any dried out or brown layers. Using the back of a knife, pound hard on the bulb to lightly smash it. This releases the essential oils and flavour.

Thinly sliced and Pounded

sliced lemongrass

If pounding, slice thinly first as the fibrous layers will break down more easily that way. You can just as easily process a whole lot in a chopper, with a little water, to get a paste.

Store in a sterilized jar, cover with a layer of vegetable oil and it should keep easily for a couple of weeks in the fridge. I do the same thing with garlic, ginger and galangal.

Recipes using Lemongrass

I love adding a couple of bruised stalks to vodka and giving them to friends as Christmas gifts; it is also great in custards and panna cotta.

  • Lemongrass Ginger Spritzer
    Lavender, Lemongrass & Ginger Spritzer
  • Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef and Rice Noodle Salad
    Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef and Rice Noodle Salad
  • Gà xào sả ớt
    Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
  • Blood orange mocktail with rosemary and lemongrass
    Blood Orange Mocktail

Other Uses for Lemongrass

Essential oil of lemongrass is used as a natural pesticide, a preservative and is also widely utilised in the perfume industry.

Given its uplifting properties, it is highly popular with aromatherapists and is also used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine.

how to use lemongrass

Lemongrass

How to use lemongrass – find out here, whether you slice, pound or leave whole!
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Course: 10 minute Recipes, Ingredients
Cuisine: International
Keyword: ingredients
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Author: Azlin Bloor

Equipment

  • Knife
  • Chopping board
  • chopper

Ingredients

  • 1-2 stalks lemongrass as needed in the recipe

Instructions

To chop or pound

  • Thinly slice the bottom half of the lemongrass and place in a chopper or pound with a pestle and mortar.
    If using raw, chop finely before adding to your recipe.

To use whole (bruised lemongrass)

  • Cut the lemongrass in half, and discard the top thinner half.
  • Place on a chopping board, and pound the bulbous end with the back of a knife.
Discover more Culinary Plants!Check out The Edible Garden

Trackbacks

  1. Healthy Prawn Noodle Soup | LinsFood says:
    16/02/2013 at 11:51 pm

    […] a couple of bruised lemongrass (or half tsp paste), half tsp galangal paste and a couple of lime leaves to the broth and […]

  2. Gravy - A Thanksgiving Cooked in Translation | LinsFood says:
    21/11/2012 at 11:20 pm

    […] just one taste of it and you’re going to want to get up and get down! Can you smell it? Lemongrass, galangal, ginger, lime leaves et al – psychedelic rapture in a gravy boat!For more […]

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