Grilled Lemongrass Pork Dinner Plan
Ground vs. fresh lemongrass: Quien es mas macho?
One of the ingredients that trips people up is lemongrass (sả). The baton-like aromatic allures us with flavor but looks inedible.
In Vietnam, you can buy freshly minced lemongrass by weight at wet markets. “It’s minced by machine, sister!” a vendor laughingly told me when I marveled at how hard she must work. Silly Vietnamese expat me!
You can buy frozen minced lemongrass at Southeast Asian markets but it seldom have bright flavor. I grown my own like my dad taught me.
Burlap and Barrel, the spice company, recently sent me Vietnamese lemongrass powder. It comes from Cao Bang, Vietnam, where my favorite turmeric comes from too.
I was initially reluctant.
We have it fresh lemongrass here in the States so why use the powder? Dried aromatics don’t function the same as fresh. However, they can be convenient.
I’ve been playing with the dried lemongrass for months and found that it’s alright for marinades and other instances where you’re coating smallish foods like popcorn! Curries and soup broth is not where you want to use lemongrass powder.
How to say lemongrass (sả) in Vietnamese:
My recent experiment with the lemongrass powder has been with pork skewers. As a comparison, I grated fresh lemongrass. The result with fresh was brighter than with the powder, which has a slight garlicky note. Lemongrass powder is obviously easier for many people, especially those who are in a hurry or don’t have fresh lemongrass whatsoever.
What’s important is knowing the pros and cons, the difference between fresh and dried aromatics. You can’t appreciate one without knowing the other. My jar of ground lemongrass is nearly empty and I decided to restock from Burlap and Barrel. It is handy, especially on days when I’m lowish on energy or am in a hurry to put a tasty meal on the table.
We’ve all had those times, yes? Smart shortcuts save us.
As I developed the simple lemongrass pork skewers recipe, I got simpler (lazy?) by grilling vegetables (pickling cucumbers and zucchini to be specific; broccoli tasted like cigarette butts). Eventually, I added grilled rice (these look like Japanese onigiri but I think of them as cơm nắm in Vietnamese).
I tested charcoal versus gas grilling on the Fire Sense yakitori grill discussed a few weeks back and my Ducane grill. Here’s a video of two rounds of recipe development:
The result is a summery 3-recipe meal for you! It’s relatively simple and even portable. In fact, I’d make this menu for a cookout and apply this game plan:
Up to 2 weeks ahead: Make a batch of the handy yakitori sauce.
Marinate and skewer the pork a day ahead. (I bet the raw pork skewers would freeze well too; or freeze the marinated pork and skewer later). Thaw and return to room temperature to grill.
Sturdy pickling cucumbers travel well and aren’t a mess to deal with on the spot before cooking.
The rice balls use cooked rice. Form them before leaving your home.
Below are the recipes, a pdf for your convenience, plus a video on how the rice balls/triangles come together!
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