Lemongrass recipe: how to make Vietnamese rice noodles with lemongrass chicken

Lemongrass is a useful plant. It is used as an insect repellent and also yields citronella oil, which is said to soothe the stomach, ease depression and stimulate the mind.

Of course, it also has culinary uses. The thick, tough, juicy stalks of the lemongrass plant are used as a flavouring in many Southeast Asian cuisines. The flavour is somewhat like lemon, but more subtle and complex.

Lemongrass is usually sold as stalks that are about 30cm (12 inches) long. Most of the plant needs to be trimmed off, and the dry outer layers should be peeled away to get at the thick, moist core at the base of the stalk (the top portion and outer leaves do not need to be wasted, though; you can chop them up and brew them into a tisane).

Because the core is tough, it needs to be very finely sliced, or you can cut it into thin pieces and pound them in a mortar, to use in spice blends. If you are using larger pieces (to flavour soups, for instance), then bruise the core by crushing it with the flat side of a knife.