Many cooks have never cooked with Lemon Grass – what a shame! Lemon Grass is an easy, zesty herb that packs a robust punch of flavor to many recipes. Lemon Grass has a plethora of health benefits, especially when paired with other flavorful spices such as Garlic, Coriander, and fresh Chilies.
Cooking with Lemon Grass is as easy as can be.
Simply cut off the lower bulb and remove the tough outer leaves. Most recipes call for the main (yellow) stalk, though some cooks reserve the upper green stem to add to soups and curries for extra flavor.
From here, you have two options:
- The first (and easier) option if you are in a hurry or do not own a food processor, is to cut the yellow stalk into 2-3 inch lengths. Bend them several times and add to your soup or curry. You may also make very shallow cuts along the stalk with your knife, which will help release the lemon flavor. Lemon Grass is a stalky and fibrous herb and can be a bit “stringy”; be sure to remove the stalks before serving.
- Your second option is to slice the Lemon Grass into thin slices and pulse through a food processor before adding to your recipe. Prepare in this way if you are preparing the Lemon Grass to be consumed, adding fiber, nutrients, and more robust flavor.
Happy herb cooking!
One of my Asian friends taught me to prepare lemongrass for soups. Take 3 0r 4 leaves(only the leaves) and wrap them in a ball (like yarn) tieing them off the grass itself. (You can also freeze them just like this or hang them to dry.) Cook in soup and remove before serving. (You may used the frozen or dried ones in the same way).
I have a lemongrass plant but it does not look like the ones I am seeing on different web pages. There is no bulb. Mine looks like actual tall grass but with a nice lemon scent. It is tough and sort of scratchy. Is the an herb I can cook with?
Thanks
Can you send us a picture via Facebook (Facebook.com/The.Growers.Exchange) or email it to us at [email protected] and we’d love to help identify it!
I must have the same plant as Deborah (above). Was it ever identified?
Deborah- That sounds like the same lemongrass I have and yes, I use it to cook. I have chopped it into small pieces to add to stews, soups, etc. It softens as it cooks so you can eat it. Other members of my herb society said they leave it whole (in long strips) and remove it before serving. I have also put it in water (whole) and tea and let it steep a bit so there is a hint of the lemon fragrance and taste.
Yes. you get the aroma n flavor but not to eat, you throw it out just like a bay leaf
Can you put lemongrass in drinks.
I have used it in tea and it’s very nice
I would like to use it mosquito repellant
I want to buy lemon grass plants
The simplest thing to get lemon grass plants is to visit your Asian market and buy the stalks. Just put them in water and change the water daily. In a week or 2 little roots will begin to emerge from the base. They emerge faster if you remove 1-2 layers of the outer stalk to expose the rooting area just above the bottom. When they are well rooted just plant just plant in loose soil and water daily and let run off until growing well. I trim the tops of the leaves every couple of weeks and make soup or tea while waiting for the plants to grow large. They like bright light and I grow them in a window in the winter and plant again outside in the springs after the frost has gone.
how much does it cost
Most lemongrass I have seen (and thatI grow) does not really have a bulb. It has a straight stalk and, to me, the bottom of the stalk looks like a large, hard/fibrous scallion or green onion. In addition to being tasty, the plant gets very tall and adds quite beautiful movement to your landscape. It is a perennial and, after being cut back to 6-10 inches tall, comes back every spring.
Depending on where you live- it does not survive the winter in zone 6.