LEMONGRASS
Lemongrass, or Cymbopogon citratus, originates from India or Malaysia but is used widely in other Southasian kitchens, most often in the Thai cooking, and also in Caribbean cooking. However, lemongrass has become more and more popular in the western kitchens as well, probably due to all the Thai and Indian takeaways and restaurants. Lemongrass is a perennial plant, but it cannot be grown in cold and harsh climates. It is a very aromatic plant, the scent is reminding of lemon and lime, and usually some minor amounts of lemongrass are used in cooking. On a large part, lemongrass is a tough and not edible plant, but the stalk is tender enough and provides lots of fresh lemony flavor for use in our kitchen. It is well suited for dishes founded on seafood, and it is a standard ingredient in a curry. It can also be used to make tea, and it has also been used for medicinal purposes.
When you buy lemongrass stalks, look for ones that look fresh and are not dry or fragile. They have to be stored in a refrigerator, preferably in a lightly wrapped plastic bag, and they keep like this for a few weeks before they start to dry out excessively. There are also dry variants of lemongrass available, although they are definitely not equal to the fresh plants. Therefore, use fresh lemon grass whenever you can - it will give that nice kick of freshness to your dish.
Using lemongrass is simple. Just make sure not to add too much of it to the dish so its flavor doesn't become too dominant. You can use the entire stalk of the grass, just chop it into smaller circles or half-circles. Depending on the kind of dish you cook, make sure that the sizes of the lemongrass slices are adequately small so people don't have to chew on them (they don't really cook to softness as other ingredients do). Lemongrass, in traditional Indian or Thai cooking, is usually blended with the distinct flavor of coriander, the hotness of chili, and/or the aromatic flavor of garlic.
If you want to use lemon grass in an alternative way, you can crush the bulb of the stalk and sauté it in oil so the juices are released into the oil. This is also a nice way to use the leftovers of lemon grass, or when the rest of the stalk has dried out but the bulb is still usable.
For very spicy Indian or Thai dishes, you can serve chilled lemongrass tea, which is simply made by cutting 8 lemongrass stalks into smaller pieces, preferably lengthwise for maximal flavor extraction, and heat them up in 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of sugar for 20 minutes (don't cook, just let them steep). Then add 4 more cups of water, put everything into a blender, mix til its all finely chopped and strain the tea through a fine sieve. Serve well chilled with ice cubes.
Why is lemon grass used in natural medicine? A substance that is richly concentrated in lemongrass is very good for fighting headaches or any spasms and cramps. It has also been used for treating rheumatism. Lemongrass contains a mixture of neral and geranial (together called citral), the molecules that provide the lemon flavor; lemongrass also contains the flower-associative geraniol. These compounds are not only good for medicinal purposes but are also used in making perfumes. In some cases, lemongrass have been noticed to be a slightly depressive herb for the human central nervous system. For this reason, aromatherapists use it in their fragrant oils to achieve a mind-calming and relaxing effect.