Lemongrass :: Herb of the Month

May 17, 2009

I went on a hunt for fresh stalks of lemongrass and my search turned out to be fairly effortless. Rows of canvas umbrellas and a crowd of meandering people caught my eye as I cruised Venice Boulevard to make my way to the Farmers Market in Culver City. Luckily, I found a vendor with bundles of fresh lemongrass stacked in a big beautiful pile. I’ll take two please.

Besides farmers markets, fresh stalks of lemongrass can be found in Asian, Indian, Caribbean, and Mexican markets, in many health food markets, and can be purchased online.

Selecting The Best Stalks

Lemongrass has long, thin, sharp grass-like light green leaves, and a scallion-like bulb base. I asked the vendor what to look for when choosing fresh lemongrass. He suggested looking for pinkish color bulbs and selecting stalks that don’t look dry and brittle.

Lemongrass is a wonderful aromatic herb with a mild lemony fragrance, but you wouldn’t know this by just picking it up and smelling it. Its distinct aroma is found in the bulb of its stalk insulated by its outer leaves.

Storing Lemongrass

There are a few ways to store and keep lemongrass fresh. One way is to place the stalks in a vase with an inch or so of water, as you would a bouquet of flowers. You can keep the stalks in a tightly sealed bag or container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Lemongrass also freezes well, something you might consider for longer-term storage. It should keep up to 6 months when stored properly.

Working with Lemongrass

Begin by peeling off the outer layer of leaves, then cut away the dry top of the stalk, and rinse off the bottom bulb. Whole lemongrass is not very chewable. The stalks are too tough to eat on their own and are often removed from dishes prior to serving, similar to using a bay leaf or a spice bouquet.

Lemongrass can be minced and chopped. You can also bruise the bulb of the lemongrass [a technique often used with garlic cloves] to release its lemony flavor. Simply press down on the bulb end with the side of a large knife [such as a Chef’s knife] or pound lightly with a kitchen mallet.

Culinary Use

Fresh, dried, or powdered, lemongrass can be used to add its wonderful flavor to a variety of recipes. I’m trying my hand at drying fresh lemongrass [the image above shows sliced lemongrass drying in the measuring cup to the left, and right of it is freshly sliced lemongrass].

This is a very pungent herb normally used in small amounts [think flavor accent or enhancer, similar to the function of a bay leaf]. The lovely aroma of lemongrass is associated with Asian recipes, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, as well as Indian and Caribbean cuisine.

Lemongrass blends well with garlic, chilies, Kaffir lime, galangal, ginger, cilantro, and many other herbs and spices. It makes an excellent tea, and is frequently used in curries and soup recipes.

Substitutes

Fresh lemon zest
Lemon balm
Lemon verbena
Powdered lemongrass also called Sereh powder
Dried lemongrass [reconstituted before use].

Healing Benefits

Lemongrass [Cymbopogon ciatrus] is not only a delicious in recipes it has multiple healing benefits. Studies suggest that lemongrass is a good cleanser that helps us detoxify and eliminate toxins in the body. It also helps cut down uric acid, cholesterol, and excess fats. It stimulates our blood circulation and digestion, and is a great tonic for our skin.

Lemongrass in the Garden

I heard that you can take a stalk of this lovely perennial, ideally one that still has roots attached, and plant it in a pot or directly into the ground with a good mix of potting soil. The next time I pick up lemongrass I plan to try this and see what happens. I would love to have access to this amazing herb, especially since learning of its many benefits. Maybe I’ll be lucky and report back that I have a flourishing lemongrass bush.

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Have you used fresh lemongrass, if so, how did you use it in a recipe?

A recipe featuring the lovely herb will post soon.

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Learn more about Raw Epicurean’s Herb of the Month Club and how your name can be selected for the awesome Herb of the Month gift bundle featuring “Nettle”, courtesy of our generous sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs.

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Comments

19 Comments so far

shernell on May 17, 2009 Sunday, 1:37 pm
I looooooooove this post Ingrid, So beautiful and interesting ! Lemon grass wow. I remember picking up some and smelling it and because it didn’t have the expected fresh lemon sent I put it down lol. Thank you for stating were the acual sent comes from. I really love this post ! :)
Cheris Courtney on May 18, 2009 Monday, 5:33 am
I’ve always been a bit curious about lemongrass. Thanks for the great info. on it!
cherrybombpie on May 18, 2009 Monday, 10:48 am
This is really helpful, Ingrid. I have used the herb in Thai dishes but don’t really know how to prepare it from scratch. I just assumed that it should be washed and chopped.

This post gives me a better idea: pressing the bulb and pulverizing it with a mallet.

They make such wonderful fragrant soups too.
Zara on May 18, 2009 Monday, 5:30 pm
I love lemongrass! I never knew how it looked, until now, and I’ve only tasted it in Thai soups and other dishes. Thank for all this great info.
Kristen's Raw on May 18, 2009 Monday, 6:46 pm
This is a beautiful and very useful post!

Cheers,
Kristen
Nicole on May 19, 2009 Tuesday, 7:40 am
I so love lemongrass! I have fond memories of it in Thai food. Thai is my favorite food ever. I hope to be able to make a yummy Raw Thai dish soon:)~
Gloria Loehle on May 19, 2009 Tuesday, 9:42 am
I frequently use it in soup. Mmm. Carmella’s blog features a lovely lemongrass soup. Also there’s a recipe in Cafe Gratitude.
Pascalle on May 19, 2009 Tuesday, 11:48 am
I love lemongrass! With young thai coconut (and the spices you mentioned) for a soup. Or just sliced for a nice addition to sun tea!
debbie on May 19, 2009 Tuesday, 12:01 pm
Yeah! I love lemongrass and will be scouting my market for ones with roots! do you think they would root by just leaving them in water?
much love to you Ingrid!
deb

Deb - Great news!!! Today, May 21, 2009, I checked the lemongrass stalks I had in a vase of water and what did I see ~ roots!!! They can root this way so if you want to plant them but they don’t have any roots remaining attached, try this method. Be sure to change the water daily.
Bob Bush on May 19, 2009 Tuesday, 12:01 pm
Lemongrass is one of my most favorite herbs! I find that its easy to eat if you slice it really, really fine, and eat the soft parts. Its used a lot in Vietnamese too (double fav!).
WIND FIREDANCING on May 20, 2009 Wednesday, 3:42 pm
I just found this website! I am new on my raw food journey. I would love to see a recipe with the flavors of Thai food using lemongrass……..
Michelle Pierson on May 21, 2009 Thursday, 7:40 am
I’ve never used lemongrass because I had no idea how to. Thanks for the informative article. Next time when I see it maybe I’ll be daring and pick it up. :)
Michelle @ Find Your Balance on May 21, 2009 Thursday, 9:53 am
See, this looks lovely, but my last experience eating something with lemongrass left me with one thought: Lemon Pledge. I just can’t stop thinking of sparkling hardwood floors! Help! :-)

Michelle - Pledge? I can’t imagine whatever you eat was made with fresh lemongrass or even from high quality dried lemongrass. What type of dish was it? Hopefully you will give this wonderful herb another try.
Candy on May 28, 2009 Thursday, 2:05 pm
I was so happy to see this site! I recently bought a bunch of fresh lemongrass and immediately stuck it in water to root. A few of them have rooted nicely and will soon be placed in the ground. Some did not root, so I plan to chop, dry and store them for use in tea. It is delicious with dried nettles! I wasn’t sure how long to leave it to dry; I’d hate to store it before it was fully dry where it might mold. Any thoughts? Also, this plant is a tender perennial, so it might not over-winter for those of us who live in cooler climates. I guess I will need to bring it indoors for the winter. We’ll see… it’s been fun learning this way. THANKS…love the site!!
Mika on May 31, 2009 Sunday, 1:28 pm
lemongrass is one of those wonderful gifts from nature that always makes me feel good. i love to use it in massage oil blends for it’s amazing scent and healing properties. thank you for this post - i can’t wait to try to grow it!
ramona on June 5, 2009 Friday, 9:40 am
I used to cook with lemongrass all the time, I’m excited to learn about ways to incorporate it in raw dishes. Thanks.
Ricccck on June 7, 2009 Sunday, 10:43 am
Rooting and growing Lemongrass is easy if you have patience.
I live in San Juan, Puerto Rico and got tired of paying $8/lb for very old, dry, yellowed lemongrass in Asian markets.
The last time I was in Philadelphia, I went to Chinatown and asked the waitress at my favorite Vietnamese Restaurant if she knew how I could grow some lemongrass.
She said ‘how would I know - I’m a teenager and never eat that stuff - I prefer Taco Bell’ but after a few minutes she came back to the table with the chef who was very helpful.
The chef pointed me to a small unmarked door next door where there was a huge Asian grocery in the basement of the same building. She explained that I should look for very fresh stalks with as much ‘root’ as possible.
Although possible to just stick it in some dirt - I didn’t want to take chances, so I used some rooting hormone and then kept the stalks in water. After a week or two I had some very nice roots.
The chef noted that most Asian families keep lemongrass plants near the back door of the house. The chef explained that this both provided easy access - but also helped keep mosquitos away since its a member of the citron family.
Back home, I planted my stalks in some small pots in the kitchen and trimmed them once a week (thinking this might stimulate growth). After a few more weeks - I moved them to large planters on my deck and roof. I was a bit disappointed after a month - since I had lots of grass, but no stalks… but given time, they are now starting to form stalks and I’m sure that in another few months they’ll be great.
I brought back about 8 stalks to root - thinking I would loose some, but all of them have flourished, so lots of friends now have plants outside their back doors.
Puerto Rican friends have visited and said that Lemongrass was always grown in gardens in the ‘old days’ since the stalks were used as toothbrushes.
Ingrid on June 12, 2009 Friday, 3:18 am
Thank you all for your participation in May’s herb of the month draw.

I’d like to announce our winner Mika of Boone, NC ~ Congratulations!!!

Our sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs is sending Mikelle a fun package of organic products - Hibiscus High Tea, Lemon Tea [both teas include lemongrass in the ingredients], Lemongrass c/s, and Lemongrass powder. We hope you enjoy these products Mikelle. :-)

June’s herb of the month is Mint.
Mika on June 25, 2009 Thursday, 1:42 pm
yippee! thank you ingrid~ i received my fabulous package of lemongrass goodies from Mountain Rose Herbs today. i am so delighted to play with lemongrass powder :) the teas smell amazing and the loose lemongrass will certainly make its way into many kitchen creations. there is even a lovely handwrited note in the package! what a great treat all of this is. lemongrass to celebrate summer! thank you ingrid for your beautiful website and sharing your passion for raw foods.

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