Tim Maddams
LATIN NAME
Cymbopogon citratus
ALSO KNOWN AS
Citronella
SEASONALITY
Home-grown lemongrass best May–October
MORE RECIPES
The moment you get a whiff of lemongrass, you know a treat is in store. Simply bashing up one of the fibrous stems is enough to get the mouth watering: it’s incredibly lemony. That pungent aroma comes from citral, which is also found in lemon verbena, coriander and ginger. In the mouth, lemongrass has a palate-teasing friskiness but also a delicate earthiness that underlies the citrus zing.
This perennial grass is native to the tropics and Australia, and strongly associated with the cooking of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. But these days it is used all over the world and not just as an ingredient. The oil of the plant is a natural fungicide, a pesticide (hence its most common use – citronella candles) and a perfume. It’s even employed to trick bees into swarming in a specific place because it closely approximates a bee pheromone.
As soon as you start cutting lemongrass, you will discover that it is very fibrous. It will stay that way no matter how long you cook it. You can leave the stalks whole and just bruise or bash them so they can be easily removed from the finished dish. Alternatively, and for a stronger hit of flavour, peel off the tough 2 or 3 outer layers of the stem (it might seem like you’re losing a lot, but these trimmings can be used in infusions) then slice, chop or pound the tender inner lemongrass very finely.
There are many culinary uses for lemongrass. I think its most pleasing role is the traditional one: in curries and spicy broths. It is often chopped and pounded into complex, multi-layered Thai and Malay curry pastes but you don’t have to go to quite so much trouble: finely sliced or minced, it is delicious paired with just a few pungent bedfellows, such as cumin, coriander (seed, leaf and root), chilli and garlic. Fry the mix gently, add coconut milk and/or stock, season with a whisper of salty fish sauce and you have the base for a simple curry, a rich, noodly laksa or an Asian-inspired dish of steamed mussels or clams. You can mix those aromatics into soft butter too, to dot over fish or shellfish before grilling, making the most of lemongrass’ wonderful affinity with seafood.
Lemongrass stems can also be infused into tea, into custard for making ice cream, or into a syrup to flavour cakes. And finely chopped lemongrass is a wonderful way to scent barbecue marinades and dipping sauces.
As with all aromatics, success with lemongrass lies in balancing it with other ingredients. To understand its flavour, make a simple infusion by pouring boiling water over a few slices of lemongrass, then try adding sugar or salt, and see how the flavour changes, then add a little chilli and taste again to appreciate its full potential.
Lemongrass can be bought dried and chopped but this rather sawdust-like form is best avoided. Fresh is the way to go. Don’t worry too much if the stems look a little woody, they should still be tender within.
You can get most shop-bought stems of lemongrass to sprout roots by simply leaving them in a glass of water. Grow them on in a pot and you will be able to harvest the fresh leaves, which are excellent.
Loosely based on an Indonesian rendang (but much quicker) this curry is fragrant with lemongrass as well as garlic and ginger, and hot with chilli. You can adjust the heat with more or less chilli, to taste. Check the heat of your chillies first (see Super-hots), before you start cooking. This curry is also very good made with rose veal. Serves 4
2 tbsp rapeseed or coconut oil, plus a little extra for the beef
6 cardamom pods, bashed
400ml coconut milk
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
100g French beans, trimmed and cut in half
800g top rump or frying steak, cut into thin strips
Sea salt and black pepper
FOR THE SPICE PASTE
1–3 bird’s eye chillies, roughly chopped
3 shallots, roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
30g root ginger, roughly chopped
3 lemongrass stems, tough outer layers removed, finely chopped
6 kaffir lime leaves, shredded if fresh, crumbled if dry (or the zest and juice of 1 lime)
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp rapeseed or virgin coconut oil
TO FINISH
3 medium tomatoes (optional)
Coriander leaves
To prepare the spice paste, put all the ingredients into a food processor, add 50ml water and blitz to a fine paste. (If you prefer, you can pound the ingredients thoroughly using a large pestle and mortar.)
To make the curry, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the spice paste and the cardamom pods and cook gently for 3–4 minutes, until fragrant, stirring so the paste does not catch. Add the coconut milk, tamarind paste, sugar, some salt and pepper and 100ml water. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Add the beans and simmer, stirring now and again, for another 10 minutes or so, until they are approaching tenderness.
Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a little oil. Season the steak strips, add to the pan and fry quickly for 1–2 minutes, until browned: they should be still a little rare in the middle.
Add the beef to the sauce and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Meanwhile, if using tomatoes, halve, deseed and cut into strips. Take the curry off the heat and add the fresh coriander and tomato strips, if using. Serve with rice.