Sometimes it’s just a matter of cutting something down to a more manageable shape or size. A colleague of mine has written helpful tutorials on all kinds of knifework. Daniela Galarza’s latest book provides step-by-step instructions for slicing, dicing, chopping, mincing, and julienne, and is well worth reading (and saving). Even produce with particularly tough or knobby skin (or both), such as celery root and winter squash, can often be tamed with a sharp peeler. And many others don’t need to be peeled at all.
But every once in a while, you’ll come across something where the line between hard skin and comfortable insides seems particularly blurred.
Get the recipe: lemongrass tofu
We’re talking about lemongrass.
If you’re like me and love citrus or adjacent flavors, the aromatic root, so popular in Southeast Asian cuisine, is a must-have. But lemongrass stems only release their fragrant goodness when you hack away at their protected outside. Remove all woody green tops and dry, fibrous outer leaves. Off with an incredibly hard bottom core! Only after raiding such a bush do you notice that you now have tight, pale green and white stems that can be cut off.
And you have to chop it up.
As with many things related to Vietnamese cooking, I turn to my friend and cookbook expert Andrea Nguyen for help. Her tutorial on her website, Viet World Kitchen, includes these gems: That is, keep peeling until you get to the part of the lemongrass that the knife will actually go through. (Cut leaves can be steeped to make a wonderful tea.)
But just cutting can be taxing and dull the knife blade, she writes. One of her suggestions is to first hit it with a mallet to break up the fibers and make them easier to cut. Or you can grate it on a microplane grater. She also has some clever ideas for storage. Freezing the prepared stems will make them easier to cut. Alternatively, add some oil to your food processor and freeze in ice cube trays.
That way, when you come across a beautiful specimen at a farmer’s market, Asian market, or traditional grocery store, you can take advantage of its bounty and prepare even more meals.
Now that you’ve prepared your lemongrass, what do you do with it? I found a great recipe in Uyen Lu’s latest cookbook, Vietnamese Vegetarian. It uses the aptly named lemongrass tofu as its main seasoning. Chopped lemongrass is mixed with other flavorings and sauces to create a marinade, which turns into a glaze when the tofu is pan-fried.
Besides the taste, my favorite part of this recipe is the tofu shape. Cut into long batons rather than the typical cubes or boards. This reminds me of the fragrant stems that make tofu so delicious. according to size.
Get the recipe: lemongrass tofu