Lemon Grass (Ta-khrai)

The scientific name of lemon grass is Cymbopogon citratus Stapf. It is in the GRAMINEAE family. The other names that Thai people call lemon grass are Cha-khai in northern Thailand and Khrai in southern Thailand. Lemon grass originated in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Thailand, and in South America.

Lemon grass is a short-cycled plant and considered part of the grass family, which grows together in a cluster and is quite easy to grow. The bush is about 4-6 feet tall or may be up to two meters. The actual trunk is approximately 4-7 cm, upright and has a short and relatively solid segment. The trunk of the tree is wrapped around with the leaf husk. Leaf husk is a long sheet and they stack over each other (so it seems hard). The leaves are lank and narrow, the lines on the leaf are parallel to the leaf stalk. The tip of the leaf has prickle hairs. Lemon grass leaves are rich in essential oils giving the trunk a fragrant smell. The lemon grass is a plant that has a flower which is difficult to bloom, similar to bamboo. But when it is time to bloom, the flower will bloom as a long bouquet and a lot of little and tiny flowers. Lemon grass is also a plant in which we can use the bulb part of the trunk for cooking. Lemon grass is also considered a medicinal herb too.

Lemon grass has a spicy and bitter taste. We use the rhizomes and old stems to be one of the recipe ingredients by cutting the stem above the ground about 1-2 inches to use. Thai people use lemon grass as a seasoning and flavoring in a variety of Thai foods. And they also use it as an important component of spices and curries such as Gang Ped (hot curry) curry paste and Gang Som (sour soup made of tamarind paste). It is also used as a key component of Nam Ya (chili sauce made of fish), Khao Yam Puk Tai (rice salad from the south of Thailand), Nam Phrik Ong (tomatoes chili sauce), Gang Tai Bplah (fish kidney curry), Nam Phrik Ta-Khrai (lemon grass chilli), etc.

Fresh lemon grass can also be used as components in Plaa (a dish of slices of seasoned raw meat or prawns) or Yum (Thai spicy salad), and it is an important component in Tom Yum (the hot and sour soup made with meat or fish boiled with slices of lemon grass stem). Lemon grass gives a pungent fragrant and somewhat hot smell. It can be used to cure and quench the fishy smell of fish and various kinds of meat very well. It will make the food taste better. Lemon grass oil that is made from lemon grass can be applied to the skin to repel the mosquito. Also, if planting lemon grass near the other kinds of vegetables it can act as a natural pesticide, keeping unwanted insects away.

Ka-nom Tao Suan

Tao Suan is the name of a Thai dessert that originally came from China. It is made of boiled soybeans that have the shell removed and are then stirred together with flour paste and sugar. Then you pour the coconut milk on top. It has sweet, salty and nutty taste mixed together.

Ingredients

• ½ cup split mung beans, or peeled mung beans (some people call soybean)
• ½ cup concentrated coconut cream (this is the thick cream on the top of canned coconut milk)
• 6-7 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp tapioca flour or corn starch
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp rice flour
• 2 cups water

How to do…
1. Wash the split mung beans with water thoroughly. And leave them to soak in the water for about 2-3 hours. When the time is over the beans will bloom all over the bowl. Then put the beans in a sieve and let the water drain.
2. Wrap the drained and split mung beans with a thin white cloth (cheesecloth is good) and put it in the steamer. Steam until the beans are done (it usually takes about 20 minutes).
3. While waiting for the beans to be cooked, it’s time to make the coconut milk for topping. Start by mixing the concentrated coconut cream with salt and rice flour in a pot first. Then put the pot over the low heat. Stir back and forth for about 1-2 minutes until the flour is cooked (careful not to boil). Turn off the heat and set it aside.
4. When the beans are cooked then pour them into a bowl. Shake the bowl lightly to make sure the beans won’t stay in a lump. Set aside.
5. Add 2 cups of water into a pot and put the pot over medium heat. Then add sugar, stir until all the sugar is melted (if anyone likes it sweet, add more sugar as you like).
6. Mix the tapioca flour with a little bit of water. Stir until the flour dissolves and does not stick together (putting tapioca flour into hot water directly is strictly prohibited, it will make the flour stick and clump together). When the pot starts to boil, then pour the flour mixture into the pot gradually while quickly stirring at the same time. Stir until it gets shiny and thick and then add the steamed mung beans. Stir until the beans are spread evenly in the pot then turn off the heat.
7. Scoop Tao Suan into a bowl. Put a little bit of coconut milk on top. Serve immediately, either hot or cold.
Tip: Do not skip the steps by adding the steamed mung beans into the pot before adding the tapioca flour. Because it will make the water get cloudy. The beans also will absorb all the water and make the beans bloom more. And when Tao Suan cools down could make the tapioca flour revert to the original form.