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You are here: Home / Kitchen & Pantry / Lemongrass (tanglad)

Lemongrass (tanglad)

01/21/2008 //  by Connie Veneracion

casaveneracion.com lemongrass

Native to India and used as an herb in Asian cooking, its common names include lemon grass, lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, citronella grass, fever grass or Hierba Luisa. In the Philippines, it is known as tanglad. It is added to soups and stews, boiled to make tea and one of its species is the source of citronella oil used as insect repellent.

During the last few years, lemongrass received a lot of attention from the media when an agriculturist in Israel was swamped with cancer patients asking for lemongrass.

It all began when researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev discovered last year that the lemon aroma in herbs like lemon grass kills cancer cells in vitro, while leaving healthy cells unharmed…

Citral is the key component that gives the lemony aroma and taste in several herbal plants such as lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), melissa (Melissa officinalis) and verbena (Verbena officinalis.)

According to Ofir, the study found that citral causes cancer cells to “commit suicide: using apoptosis, a mechanism called programmed cell death.” A drink with as little as one gram of lemon grass contains enough citral to prompt the cancer cells to commit suicide in the test tube. [Fresh lemon grass fields in Israel become mecca for cancer patients]

The Israel21c article written in 2006 by Allison Kaplan Sommer eventually became a much forwarded e-mail. Read this, however, before concluding that lemongrass is indeed a miracle cure and jumping onto the bandwagon.

But whether or not lemongrass can indeed cure cancer, it is a fact that it is a great addition to many Asian dishes. Below is a guide on how to prepare lemongrass for cooking.

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Discard the dark green portions of the grass. Only the white and light green portions of the lemongrass are used in cooking.

The outer layer of the lemongrass is too tough and fibrous for eating. If the lemongrass will be added to the pot with no intention of removing prior to serving the cooked dish, it is best to peel off the outer layers prior to cutting or mincing.

Depending on the recipe, finely slice, mince or chop the lemongrass. In most Southeast Asian dishes, mincing is done with a mortar and pestle to release as much of the the oils and juices.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. carmen factora

    09/07/2009 at 8:58 pm

    Wow, Connie!

    Such a blessing you are! Never knew how to use lemongrass, and there you go with all that info. Since the Asian store is quite a distance from us here in Colonial Heights, Virginia, can I freeze the tanglad and still retain its flavor?

    Could you please post something on pandan? Thanks!

    Thanks, too, for sharing the connection between lemongrass and cancer cells. I do believe there is a link. There is much literature about starving cancer cells by maintaining a balanced pH; lemon in your water is only one of many suggestions.

    Keep up your great work!

    • Connie

      09/07/2009 at 10:38 pm

      You can crush and mince lemongrass, store in a jar with a screw type cap and keep in the fridge.

  2. jocel

    04/13/2010 at 12:15 pm

    can lemon grass makes as wine..?how to make it as wine?

  3. carla

    06/18/2010 at 3:37 pm

    i think its a miracle

    • Connie

      06/18/2010 at 6:13 pm

      Which?

  4. mona

    06/29/2011 at 1:48 am

    hi ms connie…thank u for the info. i cooked a steam chicken in lemongrass..i used the green parts(leafy parts), dapat pala yung white ones ang ginamit…now i know…thank you talaga. God bless you for sharing great infos.

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