How do you use lemongrass?

[Hal H. Whelply Jr.]

Since I like Mexican and Thai food, both of which use lemongrass, I thought
I'd plant some in a large pot in the back yard. Now I have a large
lemongrass plant. The cats like to eat it. I would, too, but I'm not sure
which part to eat. When I buy lemongrass in the store, I get thick stalks
(about 3/8 inch thick) which appear to come from the bottom of the plant.
But mine's not big enough to produce stalks that thick. My questions: does
one grind or chop up the leaves (which do have a nice flavor and taste), or
do I go for the bottom of the stalk, and just use more since my stalks are
on the thin side? I've read that lemongrass can get up to five feet high. Is
that the secret--wait for it to mature?

Thanks for any help.

Hal

[Arturo Quesada]

Lemongrass is a traditional ingredient used in Mexican cooking? I have to admit
being shocked at that one, but I'm always willing to learn. Can you site some
examples?

Arturo

[Ray Bayles]

New, or young shoots are the best. The old ones are woody.
I have never seen lemon grass that was 3/8 thick at the base. You want
individual shoots that are at most 3/16 inch wide and 1/32 inch thick
at the base for best flavor.

As someone who has lived in southeast Asia where lemon grass is
plentiful, I strongly recommend you just use the pre-packaged
varieties... or the type sold in herb catalogs. It is the flavor that
most people are seeking, and the herb farm varieties are grown
specifically for their flavor and texture so you don't get the tough
fibrous types.

"Hal H. Whelply Jr." wrote:
>

[Hal H. Whelply Jr.]

I remember going to dinner at the home of a Mexican-American student in East
Los Angeles in the '60s and being served lemongrass tea, menudo and
tortillas. OK, as I think about it now, making tea is not quite the same as
cooking. So, thanks for getting me to reflect further on that one. But,
clearly, that particular family were not strangers to lemongrass.

HW

"Arturo Quesada" <corr...@home.com> wrote in message
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[Fritz von Herbenfeller]

There are two kinds of lemon grass. The common variety -West
Indian-(Cymbopogon citratus) does make a large bulbous affair near the
ground which is the main source which is chopped or sliced, along with the
young tender leaves. There is also East Indian Lemongrass (Cymbopogon
flexuosus)which makes only leaves 3-5 feet tall, in which case only the
leaves are used. it makes a heck of a nice planting along side some tall
marigolds.
Both are tender perennials and grown as annuals here in zone 7b-8a.
Sometimes citratus survive the winters but rarely flexuosus.
Hotus III says citratus in native to S. India and Ceylon but is now widely
cultivated in the tropics, which presumably would include Mexico and
Central America. I've heard flexuosus is cultivated in California, cut and
baled like hay and dried as source of flavoring in packaged tea mixes.

[Hal H. Whelply Jr.]

Fritz,

Thanks for the very informative post. Thanks, too, to Ray Bayles for his
post a couple of weeks ago.

From your description, and given that I'm in So. Cal., I think I have the
flexuosus. Now, where did I park that baling machine?!

HW

"Fritz von Herbenfeller" <drm...@ctesc.net> wrote in message
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[Kimberly]

Hal,

You can buy freshly chopped lemon grass in many of the Oriental markets, if
you are in Orange county, try one on the corner of Edinger and Magnolia in
city of Fountain Valley. In many of these stores, you may be able to buy the
common thick stalk variety to grow for yourself also. I, too, live in
Southern Cal. and have lemon grass in my back yard year round. They can grow
quite tall, and since I only use little of the leafy part, I trim it down
once every couple monthes and use it as part of the landscaping. If you want
to use lemon grass in, say, a soup, 'tom yum' for instant, you don't have to
chop it up, you can smash the thick stalk with the back of a cleaver and tie
them in a small bun and put that in the soup stock. Nothing beats a fresh
stalk of lemon grass, but if you want the restaurant taste of tom yum, you
can try the already made tom yum paste in the store. Chicken marinated with
gresh chopped lemon grass, pepper, soy sauce and a little sugar over night
are wonderful on the grill.

Happy eating

Hal H. Whelply Jr. <whe...@home.com> wrote in message
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[Hal H. Whelply Jr.]

Kimberly,

Thanks very much! Yes, I'm in O.C., and within reasonable driving distance
of the market you mention.

Hal

"Kimberly" <n...@this.address> wrote in message
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