Traditions with lemongrass
Lemongrass, a tall grass with a lemony, floral scent, gives a fresh and citrus note to the foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is brewed as a tea in West Africa and the Caribbean.
Lemongrass, a tall grass with a lemony, floral scent, gives a fresh and citrus note to the foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, and is brewed as a tea in West Africa and the Caribbean. The lower stalk is bruised and added to soups and curries, or finely sliced into salads and pastes. It is a spice of the tropical kitchen, grown in many gardens. These pages describe where it is used and what it means.
Where it is used
In Thailand, lemongrass is in tom yum and green curry paste. In Vietnam, it is in grilled meat marinades and the beef noodle soup of Hue, in Cambodia in kroeung, the base of amok, and in Indonesia in rendang and soto. In the Philippines, it flavours the chicken dish inasal, and in Sri Lanka, tea. In West Africa, fever grass tea is a household drink.
What it means
A bundle of lemongrass at the entrance of a Thai or Cambodian house is a common sight, and it is used to freshen the home and keep mosquitoes away. In Cambodian cooking, kroeung is pounded by hand with lemongrass, galangal and turmeric at the start of any festive meal. It is a flavour of welcome, and its smell is bound up with the memories of home for people from Southeast Asia.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Lemongrass (spice). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Gawai Dayak: Zahirulnukman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source