Should lemongrass be edible or just a flavoring?
In my limited experience with lemongrass (which I buy fresh-ish in plastic bags from the fridge of my local asian supermarket - not frozen or dried or anything), it's hard and impossible to chew, no matter how long you cook it for. I usually smash it, split it down the middle and add it to soups or other dishes with a lot of liquid, then take it out at the end like a bay-leaf.
However, I've recently seen recipes in which finely chopped lemongrass is put straight in a stir-fry or a sauce, which just seems like a good way to end up picking bits out of your mouth to me. Is there a problem with the lemongrass I'm buying? Is it that only the green is hard and inedible? Or am I cooking it wrong?
Best Answer
You're not missing anything, lemongrass is very fibrous and often it is a good idea to remove it like a bay leaf. If it's quite fresh it can be left in if you peel away the outside layers, you use only the most tender portion (about a half-inch from the root to about 2 inches from the root), and you mince very finely. If you do all that, you can stir-fry or otherwise cook lemongrass, and keep it in the dish without causing your guests to spit it out.
There is no harm though in removing it.
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Quick Answer about "Should lemongrass be edible or just a flavoring?"
Lemongrass is often finely chopped or pounded in order to break down the tough stalks. Once minced or pounded, lemongrass can be added to marinades or grilled meats for a touch of sweet citrusy flavor or used to brighten curry pastes and simple sauces. Powdered lemongrass works here too.Are you supposed to eat lemongrass?
You can eat the whole lemongrass, including the stalk. However, the stalk itself is tough and hard to chew. For this reason, you may want to remove the stalk before consuming the raw lemongrass.Is lemongrass a seasoning or flavoring?
Spice Description As a spice, fresh lemon grass is preferred for its vibrant flavour, but is also sold in dried form. The dried spice is available in several forms: chopped in slices, cut and sifted, powdered, or as an oil can be extracted from the plant.How do I know if my lemongrass is edible?
Only the tender part of the bottom third\u2013a tightly packed bulb\u2013of the lemongrass is edible. This part can be sliced or pounded after the tough outer leaves or layers are removed. Once the fibrous inner stem is finely, finely sliced, you can add it raw to salads.Is chopped lemongrass edible?
Whole freeze-dried lemongrass can be prepared in the same way. For chopping or pounding, only the bottom seven or eight centimetres are edible \u2013 slice off and discard the rest. Then chop finely or pound to a pulp in a pestle and mortar.Ultimate Guide to LEMONGRASS - Hot Thai Kitchen
More answers regarding should lemongrass be edible or just a flavoring?
Answer 2
If you actually chop it finely, you should be okay. Specifically, you should cut it into thin disks against the grain first, so that you're cutting the fibers into short enough lengths not to bother you. Depending on how tough your lemongrass is, you may have to remove some outer layers to do this.
At that point, it may already be possible to chew, but further chopping should make sure of it. If the pieces are small enough, there isn't really anything to chew, and it's not too likely to stick in your mouth given that it's mixed in with plenty of other stuff in the dish.
That said, there's some variation in the toughness, and it does take a reasonably sharp knife to do this if the lemongrass is on the tough side, to the point that it might not be possible. So if you have issues chopping it finely (or too little of the stalk is tender enough to do so), falling back to your usual approach of infusing it into things is the way to go.
Answer 3
In Thai cooking, lemongrass is used in spicy soups like tom yam and tom kha (coconut soup with galangal). Here it’s not finely cut, and is just pushed aside when eaten, along with other spices like the galangal.
Thais also make a lemongrass salad called yam takhrai, where finely sliced lemongrass is eaten raw. Below is a link where you can see this being made – the cook slices the lemongrass at around 1:00. She remarks that it needs to be tender. Indeed, although I enjoy this dish, occasionally the lemongrass can be tough and difficult to chew. It may well be that the lemongrass you’re getting just isn’t suited for this kind of thing.
Answer 4
I make Tom Kha often. I find it best to remove one or two outer layers of the lemongrass, smash it adding it to the soup, then removing it before serving. The galangal root is really tough and hard to shave or cut into small pieces. I use ground galangal from Penzey's Spices and find it easy and delicious.
Answer 5
In addition to the other answers: most Thai curry pastes include lemongrass as an ingredient, where it is typically mashed to a fine paste using a mortar and pestle (I tend to remove the outer layer first, as it may be too dry / hard to mash easily). In this case you're most definitely supposed to eat the lemongrass!
Answer 6
Think of it like a heart of Palm. You would never eat the fibrous outer layers but the very heart is tender and soft.
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