I hope you enjoy it!
Here is a dish I threw together a while back before leaving town to use up the coconut water in the fridge. Cobia in a coconut broth with shallots, lemongrass and cilantro. Exceeded expectations
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Sold as black salmon in my area, this looks very good. Thxs.
This was very tasty. I added the chile heat to the meatballs and baked off a dozen. I Removed the heat from the dressing instead. Otherwise followed recipe as written. Comforting dish and the lemongrass really shines here. I plan to make this family style for a dinner coming up later this month. Thxs again.
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My whole family is hooked on lemongrass now.
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Itās such a wonderful fragrant aromatic plant.
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Looks fantastic
I threw several tablespoons of chopped lemongrass into some lentils (both red and brown) and quinoa that I cooked with browned onions, coconut milk, veggie Better than Bullion broth, tomato paste, and penang curry paste. Really tasty, esp garnished with green hot sauce, yogurt, cilantro, scallion, and radish!
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That was my other thought. I would just soften is up and then let it sit around the house ā the stuff smells great! I was in Cambodia a few years ago, and whatever the cleaners/housekeeping staff used, it was infused with lemongrass. Each night, our room was so pleasantly clean and fresh smelling when we came back. Iāve been obsessed with finding lemongrass scented room candles and other options since then.
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Each year, I have a massive Lemon Grass plant to harvest, easily 6 feet across. Before frost, I cut out some rooted stalks and put then in small pots to be suitably-sized windowsill āhouse plantsā.
A lot gets used by gentle simmering in coconut milk, with fresh Kaffir/Thai Lime leaf and Galanga, all home-grown. Once the milk is infused with the flavors, it gets poured, through a strainer, onto simmering curry paste, in a wok, to created the base curry stock. Yummy, but thereās too much to use. So, Iāve experimented, over the years, with storing, preserving, etc. Here are some observations:
Regardless of how you store it, thereās a small, tender core inside the base of each stalk. Youād expect it to taste good, but it tastes terrible to anyone Iāve given it to. So, I split the base, expose the triangular core and pop it out. Donāt need it. Any part below that core tastes pretty bad, too.
Freezing works, but Lemon Grass loses itās flavor over time. If you can vacuum seal, then freeze, it will keep much better. Since I infuse large chunks to strain out later, I cut the peeled stalks to about 5 inches long.
Unlike Thai Lime leaf, which makes a great tincture, if done correctly, Lemon Grass tincture (Vodka extract) degrades quickly into an awful dark-colored liquid thatās only suitable for starting fires.
The latest experiment was freeze drying. Stalks were peeled, cut into 5-6 inch lengths, split lengthwise and had the core removed. Once freeze dried, they were sealed in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbing packets(non-toxic iron based). Only time will tell if this method is worth it. Iām hoping for a long-term storage solution that lasts longer than freezing. They tasted good right out of the freeze drier, but thatās only an encouraging sign.
What I havenāt tried is blanching, then freezing or drying. That may be important if enzymes, within the stalks, slowly degrade the flavor. I had vacuum-sealed, frozen stalks that were pretty tasteless after 2 years in the deep freezer. Blanching might help.
Iām going to stick with using fresh lemongrass. Frozen changed the texture and diluted the flavor. Now that I have found a source for fresh, my sister and I plan to share small bundles sold. Lemongrass made into tea is worth buying fresh stalks
Very helpful info on properly trimming the most enjoyable parts.
Yes, indeed. Thatās why Iām wondering about blanching, or even microwaving. Enzymes are notorious for degrading frozen products, but theyāre deactivated (denatured) with heat. Donāt know until itās tried.
Fresh is better in most cases with food. But obviously if you need to freeze, frozen is better than none
Made a big pot of lemongrass tea today. Voted, came home brewed a batch and enjoyed a couple of steamed dumplings.
