Lemongrass: Vietnamese cuisine’s not-so-secret ingredient

Lemongrass is “one of the defining flavors” of Vietnamese cooking, said Charles Phan in Vietnamese Home Cooking (Ten Speed Press). Its “intense lemony smell and taste” enhance dishes from beef stew to caramelized shrimp, as well as the incredibly popular dish featured below.

When you buy lemongrass, look for stalks that bend easily, indicating that they haven’t dried out. Lemongrass is sometimes used as an aromatic, chopped coarsely and smashed before it’s slow-simmered for a soup or stew. Here, it’s used more like a garnish and should be “chopped so finely that it looks like granulated sugar.” Don’t resort to using a food processor; chopping produces a more pleasing texture.

Recipe of the week

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Lemongrass chicken

• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp chicken stock or water
• Pinch of sugar
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1
• lb skinless boneless chicken, a mix of breast and thigh meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 tsp finely chopped garlic
• ¼ cup finely minced lemongrass
• 1 jalapeño, sliced on the diagonal
• 2 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tbsp roasted chili paste (below)
• 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp finely chopped roasted peanuts
• Whisk together fish sauce, stock, and sugar until sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat until drops of water evaporate on contact. Add oil and heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken and cook, turning occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, until lightly browned.

Pour off 1 tbsp of the oil from the wok and return to medium-high heat. Add onion to the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened. Add garlic, lemongrass, and jalapeño and cook 30 seconds longer.

Add rice wine and deglaze pan. Add fish sauce mixture, chili paste, and scallions and continue cooking for 1 minute more, until scallions have softened and chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the peanuts. Serves 3 to 4.

Roasted chili paste (makes 1½ cups)

• 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp annatto seeds
• ½ cup finely chopped shallots
• ½ cup canola oil
• ¼ cup minced garlic
• ¼ cup red pepper flakes
• 1⁄3 cup ground bean paste
• 2 tbsp each rice wine, sugar, and soy sauce

Combine peppercorns and annatto seeds in a spice grinder and grind coarsely.

In a saucepan, combine shallots and oil over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, for about 6 minutes, until shallots are light gold. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes longer, until garlic and shallots are lightly browned. Stir in red pepper flakes and peppercorn-annatto mixture. Add the bean paste, wine, sugar, and soy sauce and continue cooking, stirring, for 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat and let cool.