What is lemongrass and where can you buy it?

|lemon-grass|

Adam Bush

Published: April 23, 2020 at 11:50 PM

Discover what lemongrass is, where to shop for it, and how to use it in our ingredient glossary

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What is lemongrass?

Lemongrass is the stalk of a grass native to Asia, Africa and Australia. Perhaps best-known as a popular ingredient in Vietnamese and Thai food, it has a citrusy perfumed flavour and smell. Slice finely or bruise whole to release the fragrant scent, discarding any woody outer layers, then add to soups, curries, salads and sauces. If used raw, it needs to be very finely chopped.

Where to buy lemongrass

Thai Lemongrass, 70p/2 stems, Tesco

Fresh Thai Lemongrass, £3.48/100g, Amazon

Lemongrass recipes

Tomato, lemongrass and rice soup

Use up tinned chopped tomatoes and infuse with punchy spices, including lemongrass, to create this nutritious vegan soup.

Vegan Tomato Soup Recipe with Rice and Lemongrass

Whole chilli and lemongrass sea bream

Our recipe for delicately soft sea bream, with a fiery chilli and punchy lemongrass marinade, makes for a great summer BBQ. In Phu Quoc and coastal regions of Vietnam, huge tanks of live fish and shellfish are a common sight in markets. Customers barter for what they want, choose a marinade and dipping sauce, and it all gets cooked on a huge charcoal grill in minutes.

Bánh mì bowls with lemongrass pork

Like a bánh mì sandwich, but without the bread! Try our lighter take on a Vietnamese classic, packed with pork tenderloin, carrots, mooli and jasmine rice.