Is fresh lemongrass way better than dried?

I've been trying to dupiicate a ginger/garlic/lemongrass dressing that has gotten pretty expensive lately. The lemongrass didn't get pureed very much, yielding an odd texture but pretty nice flavor. I use a miniblender for doing dressings or sauces for two.

~ 1 tablespoon frozen OJ concentrate
~ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
~ 1 tablespoon soy sauce
~ 1 tablespoon dried lemongrass
~ 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic put through a garlick press
~ 1 tablespoon shredded ginger that I keep in a little bit of white wine
~ 1 teaspoon dried basil
Most of a capsule of lecithin
Safflower oil to fill miniblender ~3/4 full

DH sez that I should have tried pulverizing the dry lemongrass in the blender first. I was wondering if going for fresh lemongrass (rather pricey) would be better.

The fresh is a woody stalk and I only use it to infuse flavor into a liquid. You need to crush it open to get to the flavor filled part then fish it out when you are ready to serve. I didn't even know there was such a thing as dried lemon grass as a seasoning...I thought it was only in Tea. :shrug:

Keeps the twigs out of the food and really brings the flavor out.

One stalk usually lasts for two meals if they're reasonably close together (and I keep the lemongrass in the fridge), which is good, because fresh lemongrass is kind of spendy around here...

More of those lemony volatile oils and such.

Are you near any asian supermarkets? I bet you could get a bundle of it for a decent price - get a bunch and freeze what you don't use. We grew a huge amount last summer - and still have some in the freezer.

re. texture - I've seen recipes that call for it to be strained out after the blending.

good luck - I love lemongrass! :hi:

called Chicken Golanga at our old Thai restaurant; had some lemon grass floating around.

VOILA!

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/online_recipes/thailand/chicken-galangal-soup.php

:D

Did you fish that stuff out like bay leaves before eating it?

but the flavor!!!

When you bruise one the lime fragrance is just wonderful.I chiffonade(sp) them finely like you would do basil leaves. If anyone would like to try them, I have two kaffir lime trees,( the fruits are bitter and rarely used), just the leaves... pm me and I will send you some.

--that gave me a large bunch for only a dollar! Two peeled stalks were going for $4.00 at the co-op.

Good score! :fistbump:

I have used it in soups - just letting it float around imparts that great flavor, but trying to make it into something you could actually swallow has always been a real challenge for me.

They used to carry it at the Whole Paycheck in New Orleans, but I don't know if they all have it.

:hi:

and the fresh is stronger than the dried. I just bash the stalks so they split open and drop them in. When the soup finishes cooking, I fish them out.

I'm usually eating brown rice with the rest of the meal so I don't need the fibre that bad.

Next time, I'll do an oil and vinegar extract before adding the rest of the ingredients and then fish the chunks out. Also, I'll look for the fresh stuff at a couple of Asian markets to see if I can get it cheaper than the spendy stuff at the organic co-op.