What Is Lemon Grass?
Lemon grass is a perennial native to Southeast Asia. A common ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cooking, among other Asian cuisines, it has a lemon scent and tartness. It is used in the west for a number of purposes, including as a lemon substitute or reinforcing agent in herbal teas.
The Plant
Lemon grass is found wild in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. It requires a well draining but humid growing environment, and will not tolerate hard frost or severe freezing. In the United States, lemon grass is commercially grown in Florida, California and Hawaii. In regions unsuited to year round outdoor cultivation, it is grown in greenhouses, or rotated indoors for winter.
Lemon grass is a clumping grass that forms mounding tufts. It can be grown from seed or by clump division. In a warm, tropical environment, it can reach 9 feet tall, but as a rotating indoors/outdoors plant, it seldom exceeds 3 feet.
Uses
Lemon grass is used in three primary ways. As a flavoring agent, it is common in Southeast Asian cooking, serving to provide both souring elements and fragrance to many stews, soups, stir fries and steamed dishes. In this role, it is also used as a flavoring for teas and tisanes.
Lemon grass is used as a scenting agent in soaps, lotions and candles. Citronella candles that are used to discourage insects are usually made with a species of lemon grass that is closely-related to the culinary species; both contain citral, the lemon flavor found in lemon peel.
Lemon grass is also used as an herbal medicine. In South America, it is used as a medication to combat insomnia. Various cultures use lemon grass as an antiseptic and antifungal agent on wounds. It is also used to promote digestion and combat nausea.
Use Fresh Lemon Grass
Lemon grass, sold whole in some grocery produce sections and in many Asian markets, is commonly a slender stalk faintly resembling a green onion. The stems are often tough and fibrous, and only the central heart is tender enough to be eaten without extreme processing. However, lemon grass can be used in cooking, provided the chef uses it much as a cook would use cinnamon sticks or bay leaves: as a seasoning to be removed or left sufficiently whole as to be easily avoided by a diner. If it is to be removed, lemon grass is often tied into a bundle and then smashed or crushed using the edge of a heavy pot lid, the spine of a knife blade, or similar heavy tool to break up the fibers of the stem.
Fresh lemon grass can be ground and reduced to a paste, which can then be added directly to foods.
Dried and Preserved Lemon Grass
Lemon grass is also dried and sold ground to a powder, where it is used much as any other ground dried spice. Though much of the fresh flavor is gone, the citral scent and sourness remain, which is useful in soups, teas, tisanes and gravies, or in the water for steaming foods. Ground, pulverized fresh lemon grass is also sold in tubes in many produce departments. This product can be added to a dish in place of fresh lemon grass.
Teas and Tisanes
Lemon grass is strong scented, and serves as a flavor base for many teas and tisanes. Often used in combination with other lemony ingredients, such as lemon peel, lemon verbena and hibiscus flower, it produces a sharp, highly-fragrant brew. Chilled, it can serve as an iced tea with a lemonade character. Lemon grass teas and tisanes, like many lemon flavored and scented teas, are thought to relieve unsettled stomachs. Lemon grass is also believed to help with pain, sleeplessness, colds and the flu.
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