When you have a large crop of lemongrass from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it. You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.
Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple! Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve lemongrass:
- Bake it with fish and fennel stalks, leaves, and bulbs. This combination works well with many different types of fish.
- Add it to hot grains such as rice, amaranth, and quinoa. It can be placed directly in the pot while the grains are cooking.
- Add it to soups and broths. Lemongrass is one of the first things I reach for when making chicken broth or veggie broth at home.
- Add it to egg dishes such as omelets and quiches.
- Use it as Decor in an Interesting Salad. (Wondering why I capitalized those letters? Read more about Interesting Salads here!)
- Add it to other salads.
- Make a tea. Lemongrass is usually best suited for an infusion, although the thicker parts of the stalks that are closer to the ground could also be decocted.
- Add it to a tea blend. Lemongrass goes well with Camellia sinensis teas such as black, white, or green tea as well as with floral teas like chamomile or rose petals.
- Make infused vinegar. Lemongrass-infused vinegar makes a great salad dressing or dressing base. Infuse lemongrass in vinegar by itself or with other herbs like the following:
- Make infused oil.
- Make a tincture. An herb:solvent weight ratio of 1:5 at 45% alcohol is suggested for a lemongrass tincture.
- Dry it for later use. See our How to Dry Your Herbs articles here for more information.
Further Reading
Growing lemongrass? Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.
Lemongrass is also featured in these articles: