Lets talk carrots, potatoes and onions...

@farmerman,

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Any shrimp dishes with lemon grass?

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Grilled Lemongrass prawns:

Keys : Main Dish Seafood Vietnamese Vietnam Asian Oriental Vietnamese
* This recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients :

16 x king prawns 8" to 9" long
or 24 medium prawns 4" to 5" long heads, shells intact
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce (nuoc mam)
1 tbl vegetable oil
2 x lemongrass stalks outer leaves and
tough green tops removed, root ends
trimmed, and finely ground
1 x unripe star fruit sliced into thin
stars, (optional)

Method :

* With a paring knife, make an incision through the shell along the back of the prawns. Devein, leaving the shell intact; rinse the prawns and pat dry.
* Whisk together the sugar and fish sauce in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the oil and lemongrass. Add the prawns, and toss running your fingertips between the flesh and shells. Place the prawns in a plastic bag and seal the bag. Marinate the prawns, refrigerated, 2 to 3 hours, turning the bag over every 30 minutes or so.
* Grill over a barbecue (make sure the flames have subsided, and coals are red with white ashes), or in a well-oiled grill pan over medium-high heat, until prawns are cooked through and turn pink, about 3 minutes per side for king prawns, and 2 minutes for medium prawns. Serve with star fruit on the side.
* Variation: Muc nuong xa, grilled lemongrass squid, is equally delicious. Substitute 1 pound whole squid, skinned and cleaned, for the prawns. In Step 2, marinate for 1 hour, and in step 3, grill for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the size of the squid.

* Comments: The best prawns for this recipe are king prawns, measuring about 8 to 9 inches long. Plump and tender but firm, their heads that are full of sweet tomalley. If these are not available, use medium prawns, usually about 5 to 6 inches long. Marinated in a combination of lemongrass, fish sauce, and sugar, either is excellent grilled over a barbecue or in a grill pan any time of the year.
* If you cannot find fresh or frozen lemongrass, substitute garlic or ginger; although much different in flavor, the result will be equally tasty. The optional star fruit slices are used not only as a beautiful garnish but also because the sourness is a perfect compliment to the sweetness and saltiness of the dish.

http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=121589

Farmer, I keep lemon grass in the freezer in small (roughly "recipe-sized") air-tight plastic sachets. Perhaps use a little more of the frozen variety than the fresh for a given recipe.

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@msolga,

I also have a recipe for a very simple wanton ("pot stickers") soup, If you're interested. Lemon grass is included in the stuffing for the wantons.

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@msolga,

Quote:

Farmer, I keep lemon grass in the freezer in small (roughly "recipe-sized") air-tight plastic sachets. Perhaps use a little more of the frozen variety than the fresh for a given recipe.

I forgot to mention: finely chopped before freezing. This is how they're bought at the Vietnamese market.

I also should mention I have many recipes which include lemongrass as an ingredient! Lemongrass chicken? Thai curries? Name your poison! Wink

1 Reply

@msolga,

Oh yeah, I only planted the lemon grass to see how itd do. Apparently e had an abuyndant rain year and the leafy veggies were supersized. Im interested i nany lemongrass recipe.

PS, Dont eat the tomalley . I used to eat lobster tomalley on triscuit crackers like a madman. Ever since the recent articles about trhe toxins therein, Ive given it up for healths sake.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

OK then. Will post my lemongrass chicken wonton* soup in the next couple of days, farmer.

I see I called it "wanton" soup in a post above. Laughing

(Always doing that!)

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Dont eat the tomalley

OK. But what exactly is this tomalley stuff?

1 Reply

@msolga,

tomalley is that yellow or green mung that is in the upper carapace of the lobster or big shrimps. In lobster its usually a pistachio green color (I know, foods that are whipped and green are not very appetizing looking) But tomalley was always a post lobster treat cause its flavor was so laden with a seaweed and ocean taste. It just spread on crackers like butter. Just forget about it, its off your diet girlfrenn.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

OK then! Never gonna touch that stuff!

Thanks for the information, though.

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@msolga,

I'm sitting at hamburger's, having a bowl of chicken stew.

Started with some pork breakfast sausage (out of the casing), broken up and sauteed very slowly to get the fat out - then tossed in diced celery, carrot and sweet onion - let that all kind of get glisten-y. Added a tiny bit of olive oil, and a half pound of sliced mushrooms. Turned up the heat, cooked it all til the carrots started to get soft. Put in a bunch of chicken thighs (with a bit of skin still on - but mostly skinned), let them brown up a bit - then another 3 or 4 carrots and potatoes (in big chunks). Let the whole pot cook on low for abut 8 or 9 hours (was supposed to be the crockpot, but it wasn't feeling well). Added a bit of Maggi to each bowl on serving.

Sooooooooooooo good.

(forgot the fresh sweet green peas - oh well, another day)

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@ehBeth,

Speaking of root vegetables...potatoes, carrots, onions and celery and cabbage layered in the bottom of a roast pan covered in chicken breasts. It's starting to smell good. Whatever veggies are left will be tossed in the crockpot with chicken broth and diced tomatoes and maybe some beans or lentils for a hearty soup.

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@Tai Chi,

That sounds really good and hearty. A meal for a cool Fall evening. Along with a cup of Ms Earl Grey tea.

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@ehBeth,

I learned a new lesson from the Julia Child Movie . Chicky breasts and thighs wont brown unless they are nicely dried.

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@farmerman,

From one of my favorite cooking sites:

http://www.foodsubs.com/HerbsAsian.html

Quote:

lemongrass = lemon grass = citronella = fever grass = serai = sereh = takrai Equivalents: 1 small, trimmed stalk = 1 teaspoon sereh powder = 1 tablespoon dried lemon grass Notes: Thai cooks use these grayish green stalks to impart a lemony flavor to their dishes. Remove the outer leaves, then use about six inches of the base, discarding the top and the very bottom. It's best to cut lemongrass into large pieces that can be easily removed after the dish is cooked. Frozen lemongrass is a good substitute for fresh, but dried lemongrass (soaked in hot water) is only a fair substitute. Use powdered version (called sereh powder) only in a pinch. Substitutes: lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon = 2 stalks lemon grass) OR lemon verbena OR lemon balm OR lemon leaves

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@farmerman,

Check out these recipes for inspiration:

http://recipes.epicurean.com/desc_results.jsp?ingredients=Lemon+Grass

http://laurasbestrecipes.com/2009/09/03/lemongrass-tea-soup-with-chicken-dumplings-mango-and-glass-noodles/

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/lemongrass.htm#Culinary%20Uses

http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/thailand/lemgrass.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-obama-party-recipe-5-14jan14,0,5157979.story

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@Butrflynet,

Thankks butterfly. Just for a starter I made one of msolgas chicken and lemongrass with a hoisin sauce last night. For want of better things, mrs F cooked up some rice while I was doin the chicken and we served it over a nice sticky rice mass. It was quite good because I cooked the saiuce down quite far. However, in my haste to get **** on the table, I failed to cut up the chicken (thighs) and the big hunks were kind of a pain to dissect on the plate what with all the rice and sauce and all.

NOTE TO SELF: foods with sauces should not be accompanied by whole pices of animal joints. (Glad it wasnt a lamb we were doing).

I now need to hunt up one of those oriental veggie shavers that makes these really fine julienne slices.

I dug up lots of potatoes from my garden yesterday and found them very nice and not too huge. SO tonight Im thinking of some veggie pack on the grille which features potatoes as a central theme). Its still nice enough to eat outdoors in the backyard

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@Butrflynet,

A lot of these recipes call for coconut cream or coconut milk. (Not an easy ingredient to get in the farming country of the PA DUTCH where our grocery stores arent even open on Sundays unless I drive 25 miles into LAncaster)
Whats the health advisory on coconut milk these days?

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@farmerman,

Personally, farmer I find coconut cream far too rich in just about any dish. Doesn't agree with me at all. Just my personal taste, but I find it somewhat overwhelming. (And heaven knows about the amount of fat one is consuming! Shocked

) So I always opt for some "lite" variety of coconut milk, no matter what the recipe says. I've read that you can "make" coconut milk by diluting the cream with water. (In fact, that this is what the "lite" variety is.) Sounds reasonable to me, but I haven't done this myself.

So, did the lemongrass add a certain "something" to the food you cooked? Do you like it?

1 Reply

@msolga,

AW yeh. Its really a nice presence, much more subtle than lemon zest which has an astringency that permeates everything when you add enough to flavor it well.

The only thing is that my lemon grass is a bit chewy. It doesnt tenderize so I guess Ill have to chunk it into even smaller peices.

HOW DO I KEEP THE PLANT ALIVE???? Its huuge now but I see trhat the damn thing is tropical. (Its gonna be surprised when we get our fist frost)

2 Replies

Here's that wonton (pot sticker) soup recipe I said I'd post. (Actually, I made it for dinner tonight. Yum!) It's very easy & quick to make, if you have all the ingredients on hand. This recipe is supposed to be for two, but I reckon you could double, triple, or even quadruple it (!), depending on the number of mouths to feed ... & if everyone's very hungry.:

Lemongrass chicken wonton soup:

Ingredients:

200g chicken mince
1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1 egg white
12 wonton wrappers
1 litre chicken stock
2 kaffir lime leaves, crushed (or lemon or lime substitute is fine)
1 long red chili, sliced
350 gai larn (Chinese broccoli)*

Method:

- Combine mince, lemongrass, ginger & eggwhite in a bowl & combine.
-Place a tablespoon of this chicken mixture onto each wonton wrapper.
-Brush the edges of the wrapper with water, fold in half & press edges together to enclose filling.

-Place stock, ginger slices, lime leaves & chili in saucepan over medium-high heat & bring to a simmer.
-Add wontons & simmer for 6 minutes until the wontons are almost cooked.
- Add the gai larn & cook for a further two minutes.
-Divide wontons between bowls & serve with soup & gai larn.

*** If you wanted the skip the gai larn (Chinese broccoli) step, just simmer the wontons till cooked & do the "Vietnamese thing" (which I really love!). By which I mean, pile (lots of) finely chopped/shredded Asian greens & a few fresh herbs like mint, Vietnamese mint, mild chives, etc, on top of the soup, once it's in the serving bowls. They'll wilt a bit & give the soup a nice bit of crunch! You could also add a few pieces of sliced fresh chili to this, too, If you like. If you want a little more tang, squeeze a little lemonjuice in, to taste.You really can't do much wrong, just suit yourself! Smile

~

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@farmerman,

Quote:

The only thing is that my lemon grass is a bit chewy. It doesnt tenderize so I guess Ill have to chunk it into even smaller peices.

Ah. You discard the outer, tougher casing of the leaves, farmer & only use the white softer part in the centre.

1 Reply

@farmerman,

Quote:

HOW DO I KEEP THE PLANT ALIVE???? Its huuge now but I see trhat the damn thing is tropical.

Mine died. Drought, ya know! Sad

Sounds like you have the ideal growing conditions (Just like SE Asia! Wink

), farmer!

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