Spotlight on Lemongrass

Lemongrass is a key ingredient in Asian cooking such as Thai and Vietnamese It can be in a dry form or fresh. It has a wonderful citrus flavour and is often used in curries. It can be ground with garlic, shallots and chilli's to form a paste for Malaysian curry, the paste is then mixed with coconut milk.
It is also a key ingredient in Thai soups. It can be bought in certain grocery stores, I have found it in Fresh Market and Whole foods, or at your local Asian store.

Spicy Lemongrass Chicken Great recipe from Food and Wine, tried it yesterday lovely

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, fat trimmed, meat cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 plump stalks of lemongrass, tender white inner bulb only, minced
1 medium red onion, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine, sake or water
1/2 cup Vietnamese Stir-fry Sauce
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Asian chili paste
4 large scallions, cut into 1/2-inch lengths
5 small dried red chiles
1 large jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, toss the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of the canola oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper.
In a large skillet or a wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil until small puffs of smoke begin to appear. Add half of the chicken and stir-fry over high heat until browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet. Add the lemongrass, onion and garlic and cook over high heat, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Add the Vietnamese Stir-fry Sauce, oyster sauce, chili paste, scallions, dried chiles and jalapeño; bring to a boil. Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer until heated through, then serve.

SERVE WITH
Steamed jasmine rice.