What I had for dinner:

Lemongrass Chicken

26 Apr 1995 00:10:53 -0400

My lemongrass plant is experiencing a surge of vernal vigor, so I thought that it wouldn't mind giving a few leaves to a noble endeavor.

Lemongrass is a true grass and, as such, boasts leaves with a high silica content and very raspy edges. It is best not to try to eat them. I therefore cut 4 leaves (about 2 ft each) in small pieces with scissors, placed them in a small pan with a cup of water and a tsp of butter, and boiled it gently under tight lid to extract the aromatics into the liquid.

Meanwhile, inch-sized pieces of chicken breast were browned thoroughly in a wok. One chopped shallot was added, cooked for a couple of minutes, then six large mushromms, sliced very thin, were added and cooked until the liquid had evaporated. One large clove of garlic, minced, was added, and 30 seconds later the lemongrass tea was poured over the mixture through a sieve. Cooking was continued for a couple of minutes under lid, the sauce thickened a bit with cornstarch, and salt and pepper adjusted to taste.

Serve with rice and (canned) chick-peas boiled with a bit of curry powder. No fancy garam masala for this.

The lemongrass flavor was faint. Next time, I'll try to press one or two more leaves through a garlic press to add fresh juice just before serving.