Thanks for the lemongrass tips! I live in Santa Cruz County as well and have yet to try Special Noodle. Thanks for your review. Have you tried Full Steam Dumpling?
This reminds me of a local nursery selling Helichrysum italicum, curry plant, in the herb section, and a friend buying one thinking because of its smell it could be used for making Indian curry. Matching up what you want to eat with what you want to grow can be hard!
I've used coir in place of peat moss for close to a decade! It's a great substitute; peat moss is an unsustainable resource, and when dry is practically hydrophobic. Coconut coir is awesome as a planting medium!
Oh goodness, curry leaf is another fun one. I have my stories too, though not like your friends. ;-)
You're right about coir as a peat moss replacer. We've long been peat mossing because that's what all the handsome potted plants had. Coir is easier to work with. I'm rooting some experimental things in coir now and it's kinda dreamy because I barely have to water to keep things just right damp. Thank you!
Aha. Interesting. Thank you for getting back to us about lemongrass.
Mind you, the only thing you will ever find in Prague (and certainly not in a radius of fifty kilometers of where I live myself) is the frozen stuff, and even that not very often.
It is useful enough in the kitchen but I don't think you can use it for growing more - so I can only grow it from seeds.
I'll try again. Hopefully it will be possible to glean enough info on what kind of lemongrass they're selling.
I just found and ordered Cymbopogon citratus seeds online. I will just try to grow them indoors. I have those mini hothouses for germinating seeds that you can easily put on a window sill.
If they grow fast enough I'll put the repotted plants in my outside greenhouse. They can spend the winter inside the house.
Hm. I’m here in the UK growing lemongrass in a pot and the plants were very young, from Sarah Raven who is a horticulturalist with an excellent reputation. I’ve just checked on her website and she defines the species as citratus and the picture is of plump stalks as per those in the supermarket . Mine are admittedly v young - only planted this Spring - but they have a LOT of red in the stalk and are still v spindly..... Fascinating article thank you, and yay to playing hooky....
The reddish stalks of C. Nardus are dark and relatively even. My homegrown C. Citratus may have reddish-pink streaks like photographed above. You'll know as yours mature. Sounds promising, though. You do have a local horticulturalist to advise you as you go along.
I really appreciate the extra lemongrass info! My spindly plant doesn’t appear to have any redness. I’m wondering if the plant is something that needs to be drastically trimmed annually (akin to roses) to do well? I’m also open to trying again with sprouted stalks if I can find a spot. I did the same with green onions and now have more than enough.
I just reread the rice intro in EGV. I’m wondering if com tam has a negative association with some people because traditionally it is the broken grains left over from rice production? Also, I’ve discovered I have another cookbook with the rice chapter first, Cracking the Coconut by Su-Mei Yu.
Unrelated to this post but I’ve been meaning to ask… Can you recommend a Viet grocery between San Diego and San Clemente (Oceanside is right in the middle) where I might find la lot and bánh hoi? I want to make the beef and tofu la lot rolls in EGV.
Lemongrass does need to get cut back and sometimes, it just needs to be replanted. My mom has spindly lemongrass and complains that hers isn't as robust as mine. Hers is ancient because she mainly cuts the leaves for tea. We split them up last year and they seem to be a bit bigger.
Com tam was byproduct that ended up becoming elevated nowadays. It's a funny thing. Rice is labor intensive and no one wants to waste a single grain or part of a grain.
For the la lot you need a hardcore Viet market or maybe a Cambodian market. Try:
Thank you so much for the grocery recs!!! When I shop down south I usually go to the Convoy District. I know there are a lot of options in the Mira Mesa area, but I wasn’t sure what options are best for what I’m looking for. I’ll try to make it down after the hurricane passes. 😳
Thanks for the lemongrass tips! I live in Santa Cruz County as well and have yet to try Special Noodle. Thanks for your review. Have you tried Full Steam Dumpling?
I've not tried the dumpling spot because I make a lot of Asian dumplings at home. FSD used to be at the Wednesday farmer's market downtown.
Thanks for the always-informative and fun newsletter, especially the deep dive lemongrass varieties.
Martin -- thank you for taking note of all this. I've never tried baking with lemongrass but it's a possible, yes?
Ooo! I’ll look into that! I bet lemongrass would infuse well into milk for a custard.
This reminds me of a local nursery selling Helichrysum italicum, curry plant, in the herb section, and a friend buying one thinking because of its smell it could be used for making Indian curry. Matching up what you want to eat with what you want to grow can be hard!
I've used coir in place of peat moss for close to a decade! It's a great substitute; peat moss is an unsustainable resource, and when dry is practically hydrophobic. Coconut coir is awesome as a planting medium!
Oh goodness, curry leaf is another fun one. I have my stories too, though not like your friends. ;-)
You're right about coir as a peat moss replacer. We've long been peat mossing because that's what all the handsome potted plants had. Coir is easier to work with. I'm rooting some experimental things in coir now and it's kinda dreamy because I barely have to water to keep things just right damp. Thank you!
This motivated me to try growing it. Thanks for all the helpful advice.
Excellent, Mary. I'm so happy to have persuaded you!
Aha. Interesting. Thank you for getting back to us about lemongrass.
Mind you, the only thing you will ever find in Prague (and certainly not in a radius of fifty kilometers of where I live myself) is the frozen stuff, and even that not very often.
It is useful enough in the kitchen but I don't think you can use it for growing more - so I can only grow it from seeds.
I'll try again. Hopefully it will be possible to glean enough info on what kind of lemongrass they're selling.
Thank you! It was weird how you mentioned it and then there the plants were -- at the nursery.
If not Prague, hopefully you can source it closer. Maybe one of your friends visiting can bring some? You can start a wish list for guests. 😉
I just found and ordered Cymbopogon citratus seeds online. I will just try to grow them indoors. I have those mini hothouses for germinating seeds that you can easily put on a window sill.
If they grow fast enough I'll put the repotted plants in my outside greenhouse. They can spend the winter inside the house.
I'm curious about growing it from seed. That's wonderful to know, Jan. Hooray. Your persistence delights me.
Thank you - and I can be a bit stubborn, but the seeds & soil & sun are doing all the hard work.
I’ll try growing lemon grass, but first a visit to Special Noodle in SC, where I also live!
Get lemongrass at the Saturday Cabrillo farmer's market. Tra and Kou should have some right now. Hope you enjoy SN!
Thank you! I got some!
Hm. I’m here in the UK growing lemongrass in a pot and the plants were very young, from Sarah Raven who is a horticulturalist with an excellent reputation. I’ve just checked on her website and she defines the species as citratus and the picture is of plump stalks as per those in the supermarket . Mine are admittedly v young - only planted this Spring - but they have a LOT of red in the stalk and are still v spindly..... Fascinating article thank you, and yay to playing hooky....
The reddish stalks of C. Nardus are dark and relatively even. My homegrown C. Citratus may have reddish-pink streaks like photographed above. You'll know as yours mature. Sounds promising, though. You do have a local horticulturalist to advise you as you go along.
I really appreciate the extra lemongrass info! My spindly plant doesn’t appear to have any redness. I’m wondering if the plant is something that needs to be drastically trimmed annually (akin to roses) to do well? I’m also open to trying again with sprouted stalks if I can find a spot. I did the same with green onions and now have more than enough.
I just reread the rice intro in EGV. I’m wondering if com tam has a negative association with some people because traditionally it is the broken grains left over from rice production? Also, I’ve discovered I have another cookbook with the rice chapter first, Cracking the Coconut by Su-Mei Yu.
Unrelated to this post but I’ve been meaning to ask… Can you recommend a Viet grocery between San Diego and San Clemente (Oceanside is right in the middle) where I might find la lot and bánh hoi? I want to make the beef and tofu la lot rolls in EGV.
Lemongrass does need to get cut back and sometimes, it just needs to be replanted. My mom has spindly lemongrass and complains that hers isn't as robust as mine. Hers is ancient because she mainly cuts the leaves for tea. We split them up last year and they seem to be a bit bigger.
Com tam was byproduct that ended up becoming elevated nowadays. It's a funny thing. Rice is labor intensive and no one wants to waste a single grain or part of a grain.
For the la lot you need a hardcore Viet market or maybe a Cambodian market. Try:
Vinh Hung
https://www.yelp.com/biz/vinh-hung-supermarket-san-diego-2
Lucky Seafood
https://www.yelp.com/biz/lucky-seafood-san-diego?osq=vietnamese+supermarket
Thuan Phat
https://www.yelp.com/biz/thuan-phat-supermarket-san-diego
Banh Hoi should be available too. I've seen it at HMart and 99 Ranch! Let us know what you find!
Thank you so much for the grocery recs!!! When I shop down south I usually go to the Convoy District. I know there are a lot of options in the Mira Mesa area, but I wasn’t sure what options are best for what I’m looking for. I’ll try to make it down after the hurricane passes. 😳
I just saw these at Pearl River Mart Foods in NYC: https://getvanvan.com/collections/shop-all/products/delta-lemongrass
Unfortunately they don’t ship internationally. Apparently once rehydrated, they get about 3-4 times in volume!
Yes the pieces do get bigger with rehydration. The flavor is moderate and some is lost in the soaking water so you want to use more than usual.