Lemongrass: calorie content and composition, what benefits can lemongrass have for our body, why some people should not eat it. As a product used in cooking. It is noteworthy that the beneficial properties of lemongrass are recognized not only by traditional medicine, but also by official medicine, many pharmacological preparations are made on the basis of lemongrass.
In folk medicine, the product is used mainly in three directions - the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, colds and fungal diseases. The effectiveness of the herb in the latter case is determined by the already twice mentioned essential oil containing geraniol and central, which also has a fungicidal effect - that is, it actively kills fungi and mold.
Harm and contraindications to lemongrass
The list of beneficial properties of lemongrass is truly impressive, however, unfortunately, not everyone is given the opportunity to fully appreciate them. If a person is absolutely healthy and does not take any serious medications, adding seasoning to food or preparing various drinks based on it, of course, is not prohibited. The main requirement is compliance with the measure.
However, if you have certain diseases, then it is better to first consult with your doctor before adding the product to your diet.
Lemongrass can cause harm primarily to people suffering from hypertension and increased nervous excitability - in this case, the tonic effect can play a bad joke.
With caution, it must be introduced into the diet of allergy sufferers, pregnant women, lactating women and children, since for us it is still an exotic product, unusual for our climate, and therefore individual intolerance to plant components is a common practice.
Usually, people who are allergic to lemongrass are uncomfortable even with the scent. Thus, if you feel uncomfortable, you have dizziness, nausea, etc. from the smell of a plant, you certainly should not eat it.
How to make lemongrass seasoning
The main task of lemongrass in cooking is to play the role of a seasoning that will make the taste of the dish more interesting and richer.
But what's the right way to use lemongrass as a spice? Of course, it is best to add the plant to dishes fresh, as it stores more vitamins and useful properties. But do not forget that the stalks of the grass are soft only inside, and therefore, before putting them, say, in soup, you need to cut them either thinly or coarsely, but place them in a dish in a bag made of natural fabric, and remove it when ready. Also, the stems can not be cut, just beat off a little with a rolling pin and, again, when ready, remove from the dish.
With dried lemongrass, you don't have to worry about harshness. To dry the grass, you need to rinse it, then wait until it dries, cut the stems into small "pieces" and place them in an oven preheated to a temperature of 40-50 degrees. When ready, the seasoning can be grinded.
Lemongrass recipes
Well, now, let's get down to using lemongrass directly. In fact, this spice is universal: soups, sauces, dishes from meat, fish, seafood, desserts - the range of use is limited only by your imagination. Just remember, if you want a little sourness and a pleasant citrus scent, lemongrass herb is a great idea. However, of course, there are also signature dishes with this seasoning, typical of the cuisines of those countries in which it is especially popular.
Let's take a look at some of them:
- Citrus Chicken in Coconut Milk … Cut a whole chicken (weighing about 1-1.5 kg), rub with black pepper and salt. Wash the lemon thoroughly, cut it into slices and remove the seeds (you do not need to remove the peel). Cut the lemongrass stems (7 pieces) thinly. Place a few slices of lemon and some lemongrass and garlic (5 cloves) in the chicken. Whisk coconut milk (800 ml) lightly, pour it into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the remaining lemon and lemongrass, as well as garlic (4-5 cloves) and cilantro (1 bunch). Bring the sauce to a boil, put the chicken in the sauce and bake in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees, for about an hour.
- Mussels in wine sauce … Heat butter (50 grams) in a saucepan, fry finely chopped onion (1 piece) and garlic (3 cloves) in it until soft. Add dry white wine (0.5 L), bay leaf (1 piece), lemon sorghum (1 stem). Simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Fill in the mussels in the shells (1 kg) and continue to simmer until they are all open. Unopened mussels can be thrown away, or you can tinker with them and unlock the doors with a knife. Place them on a serving plate. Prepare the sauce: Strain the broth, mix it with cream (100 ml), a pinch of saffron and cayenne pepper. Pour the sauce over the mussels.
- Vegetarian thai soup … In vegetable broth or water (800 ml), add a stalk of lemon grass beaten with a rolling pin (1 piece), as well as star anise (2 stars), finely chopped ginger (root 10-15 cm) and garlic (3 cloves). Cook for half an hour, then remove the lemongrass and star anise, add chopped Chinese cabbage (200 grams). Cook for 5 minutes, remove the soup from heat, and when it has cooled slightly, add 1 teaspoon soy or fish sauce and lime juice to taste, as well as green onions (a couple of feathers) and finely chopped chili (1 piece).
- Thai salad … Prepare the dressing: chop finely chili (2 pieces) and garlic (3 cloves), crush in a mortar, you should get a coarse paste. Also add lime juice (50 ml), fish sauce (3 tablespoons) and honey (1 teaspoon). Leave the gas station on for half an hour. Boil water and throw in the squid (400 grams), previously cut into squares of about 5 by 5 centimeters. Cook for 3 minutes. Beat off the lemongrass (1 stem) and chop it very finely, do the same with the ginger root (2 cm). Combine these ingredients and grind into a paste in a mortar. Thinly chop shallots (1 piece), mint leaves (from 3 sprigs), Chinese cabbage (3 leaves). Mix the cooled squid with two pastes and the rest of the prepared ingredients. After 10 minutes, the dish can be eaten.
Of course, all these recipes are quite exotic and some of the ingredients required for cooking are not sold in every Russian store. However, we repeat, the use of lemongrass in recipes is purely a matter of your imagination, no one limits you.
Lemongrass Drink Recipes
At the beginning of the article, we talked about the fact that in Africa they like to make tea from lemongrass, and in the section on the benefits we mentioned that it perfectly tones up, fights physical and mental fatigue. However, we still haven't told you how to brew lemongrass correctly.
In fact, the recipe is very simple: pour a tablespoon of the herb with a glass of boiling water and brew for 5-10 minutes. Strain and drink, adding honey to taste. But, of course, you can drink not only "naked" lemongrass, but combine it with various ingredients.
Let's take a look at a few lemon grass recipes for different drinks:
- Ginger and Lemongrass Tea … Boil water (0.5 liters), put in it bags of green or black tea (2 pieces), ginger root (3-4 thin slices), honey (2 tablespoons). Infuse the drink for 5-10 minutes. You can add a little lemon juice to taste.
- Indonesian bandrek … Put a pinch of ground ginger, cinnamon and lemongrass, a clove stick in boiling water (1 cup). Add honey to taste. When the drink has cooled down a little, you can drink it. This is a classic Indonesian bandrek recipe, but you can also add coriander, cardamom, black pepper, anise, chili and other spices to taste.
- Healthy soda … Add thinly chopped lemongrass (2 stalks), a bunch of mint and sugar (1 cup) to boiling water (1 cup) - can be substituted with a natural sweetener to taste, such as stevia. Strain and cool. Place the resulting syrup in the refrigerator, it will be enough for several servings of the cocktail. To prepare a drink, pour a tablespoon of syrup into a glass, drip a little lemon juice and fill with sparkling mineral water.
Lemongrass drinks are not only delicious, but also very healthy. However, keep in mind that you should not abuse them, you definitely do not need to drink more than a glass a day. Also, if you drink the drink daily, take a short break every two weeks.
Interesting facts about lemongrass
According to an old legend, originally from Malaysia, lemon grass is a sacred plant. Previously, they believed that it was able to protect from injury and death, and therefore the warriors took stalks of lemongrass with them into battle or rubbed themselves with it, whispering special conspiracies.
In Africa, they still believe in the magic of lemongrass, it is believed that if you plant it around the house, it will scare away snakes. By the way, on this continent the plant is called Voodoo grass.
It is believed that the tonic effect of lemon sorghum extends to libido, but there is no scientific explanation for this fact.
Lemongrass can be grown indoors.
Lemongrass is sold not only in supermarkets, but also in pharmacies, however, in the latter it is present purely in dried form.
Lemongrass stalks can be used as skewers for meat or fish.
The name of the plant, cymbopogon, of which lemongrass is a variety, is made up of two Greek words - "kymbe" and "pogon", which translates as "boat" and "beard", respectively. This strange name is understandable, it is believed that the stem of the plant resembles a fishing boat, and its lush flowers are like a thick beard.
During the Middle Ages, lemongrass was one of the favorite foods of brewers and winemakers.
Watch the video about lemongrass:
Lemongrass is a healthy spice that not only diversifies the taste of food and drinks, but also helps the general and local health of the body. In our country, it is not very popular, and in vain. We would highly recommend using it at least occasionally in your kitchen, of course, if you have no contraindications to its use.
