Loving Lemongrass-Beef Wraps, Mussels or Chicken

It's What's for Dinner Tonight - Quick Lettuce-Wrapped Beef

Aug 11, 2008 Jacqueline Church

Lemongrass is a staple in Thai cuisine. Its citrusy fragrance flavors easy lettuce wraps for cool summer dinner. Lemongrass simple syrup elevates summer drinks, too.

Lemongrass, Lettuce Wraps and Summer Cocktails

Two healthy and quick recipes using Lemongrass: Lettuce Wrapped-Beef or Steamed Mussels. Both recipes can be ready in a snap. Add this herb to your repertoire and boost the sophistication of your menu options. Lemongrass beef or mussles, - It's What's for Dinner Tonight (click here for other quick and easy dinners.)

A staple in Thai cuisine lemongrass has become a popular flavor crossing cultures. Citrusy and slightly sour, lemongrass also adds nice perfume to foods.

Thai Lettuce Wraps and Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass, Basil and Wine. Either meal can be made in less than 40 minutes. They’re healthy and light. They’re What’s for dinner tonight.

What is lemongrass?

Cymbopogon or Lemongrass is a key ingredient in the cuisines of Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The fibrous stalks grow prolifically in South East Asia.

Like many herbs, it’s not only culinary. Lemongrass is used in other ways: medicinally, in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Lemongrass has essential oils that are calming. Citronella oil is one of the most popular bug repellants and is extracted from lemongrass. Various members of the family of grasses to which citronella belong have compounds that make it effective for use as an antibacterial agent, or as a mild analgesic.

How to Use it?

Peel the woody outer layer and use the pale yellow inner layers. They can be minced finely, buzzed in the food processor and frozen or bruised or smashed with a knife or cleaver to release its essential oils.

The bruised lemongrass can be simmered in sauces, used to scent a simple syrup, and to flavor cream for desserts.

Infusing simple syrup with lemongrass makes a flavored syrup that’s perfect for summer cocktails as well as non-alcoholic summer drinks. Pour some lemongrass simple syrup over a glass of ice, fill with Rooibus iced tea or soda water or both.

Lemongrass is also what gives citrus notes to soups common in Southeast Asian cuisines such as Tom Kar Khai.

Lettuce-wrapped Beef Lemongrass

These quick-grilled skirt steaks can be made in minutes. A perfect quick and elegant summer meal. Salad and lemongrass-scented beef all in one.

1.5 lbs. skirt steak, sliced across the grain
2 cloves of garlic mashed
1/2 tsp Maggi or worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Nuac Mam (fish sauce)
3 TBSP Soy
2 TBSP lemongrass simple syrup
juice of 1/2 lime

1. Marinate skirt steaks in rest of ingredients for about one hour.

2. While steaks are marinating wash and spin dry one head of Bibb lettuce.

3. Slice thin an assortment of veggies:

red bell pepper
cucumber
red onion
julienne carrots
Fresh Mint and Basil

Make dipping sauce:

Soy Sauce, Lime Juice, Chili oil, fish sauce, sliced scallions. These should be to taste. Try equal portions of lime juice and soy, less of the fish sauce. Adjust to your preference.

Arrange vegetables on platter next to pile of lettuce leaves.
Arrange dipping sauce in two small dishes.
Serve with rice. In summer, when it’s hot, these wraps alone are a nice fairly light dinner.

Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass, Basil and Wine

Add the minced inner stalks to mussels as in this recipe from © The Essential Asian Cookbook, Murdoch Books, 2004. Used with permission.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Total Cooking time: 15 minutes

2 lbs fresh small black mussels (wonderful, sustainable, cheap and quick!)
1 TBSP oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Stems lemongrass (white part only), chopped
1-2 teaspoons red chilli, chopped
1 C white wine or water
1 TBSP fish sauce
1 C Thai Basil Chopped

Discard any open mussels. Scrub the outside of the mussels with a brush. Remove and discard the beards. Soak the mussels in a bowl of cold water, 10 minutes drain.
Heat the oil in a wok or large pan. Add the onion, garlic, lemongrass, and chilli. Cook for 4 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add wine and fish sauce and cook for three minutes.
Add mussels to the wok and toss well. Cover the wok, increase the heat and cook for 3-4 minutes or until mussels open. (Do not overcook, discard any that have not opened.)
Add the basil, toss well and serve with steamed rice.

A Lemongrass Chicken Recipe - Chicken Inasal

Filipinos use lemongrass to calm cramps and to calm nerves. Try marinating chicken in a lemongrass, vinegar and grilling it. Baste with achiote oil. See the excellent blog, Burnt Lumpia for Chicken Inasal. Burnt Lumpia is a great blog with a cross-cultural bent and Filipino soul. Great reading and good food for thought as well as recipes. Thanks Marvin!

Thai One On - the Lemongrass-Cucumber Cocktail - find it here.

The copyright of the article Loving Lemongrass-Beef Wraps, Mussels or Chicken in Gourmet Food is owned by Jacqueline Church. Permission to republish Loving Lemongrass-Beef Wraps, Mussels or Chicken in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.