1 lemongrass
Directions
Though common throughout southeast Asia, lemongrass is featured most
prominently in the cuisine of Thailand, where it may be found growing
in practically every house. It contains citral, the same substance
found in the zest of a lemon, and 1 T of chopped fresh lemongrass has
about the same "sour power" as an equal amount of minced lemon peel.
Fresh lemongrass is increasingly available at Asian markets
throughout the United States. It is easy to grow your own, either in
the garden or as a houseplant. Stand a stalk in water until it starts
sending out roots, pot it and place the plant in a sunny spot. The
entire stalk is useful. Aside from the instructions of specific
recipes, cut a 6" section off the root end, remove the outer few
layers from this lower part, chop the inner fiber and saute to make a
crisp topping for chicken or to put into salads and sauces. The
tougher outer layers can be chopped and added to marinades for
chicken or pork, or mashed and brewed for tea. The top of the stalk
can be bundled and added to stock or used as a flavoring for hot and
sour soup. Condensed from Bon Appetit, June,1992. Mail order sources
given are Tommy Tang and Dean & DeLuca. For information on Thai
cooking kits and fresh lemongrass, call A Univesal Foods Odyssey,
800-238-AUFO. Condensation and MM format by Mike Kean.
Servings: 1 servings
Lemongrass Primer Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit
The History of Recipes
It is possible to read the history of meal recipes back into distant history, certainly as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that is, these, old records were just primitive hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
In fact, the oldest recipe discovered, according to experts are a few ancient tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel blissful. Later on, in The time of the roman empire 25BC a Roman scholar, called Apicius, assembled some scrolls detailing recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his works, he describes how the roman meals were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and desserts, a style of dining still practiced today. Additionally, he tells us how the ancient chefs made use of a good variety of spices and herbs, including some that we all recognise such as thyme, mint and parsley. Later, we have a couple of cookery books published in the fourteenth century : a recipe book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these books are unconnected to the spicy food that is popular today, but instead descriptions of the types of food prepared by the cooks of the rich people of those days. Later, in the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods and spices from the holy lands, including spices like coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new culinary ideas caused an eruption in books on cooking, many of which are kept safe in academic collections. For the decades that followed, the wealthy families of Europe competed to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and consequentially the best chefs and their collection of recipes became highly prized. However, it wasn`t until the 19th century that fine cooking and recipe collections became popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Merritt Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, testing, and recording popular recipes of the day. By the time we get to the 1900s, recipe books were highly popular as a result of better eduction, people having increased free time and disposable income. |
We hope you enjoy this Lemongrass Primer recipe.
