Dried Delta Lemongrass

If you’re like me, you’ve noticed lemongrass popping up in all sorts of sauces and pastes and drinks and every place else people put “exotic” flavors. We’ve been selling a Lemongrass Paste inspired by Cambodian recipes for a couple of years now and it’s spicy, citrusy, bright, fun. But straight up lemongrass alluded us, until we came across this Vietnamese version from the Mekong delta and brought to the states by immigrant owned and woman led Vân Vân (who we first discovered through their fruity, fragrant Heaven Facing Chiles).

The dried delta lemongrass has a citrusy character for sure, but it has a little sweetness to it as well. Unlike the concentrated pastes that I’ve used in the past, this flavor is elegant and bright. It livens up all sorts of dishes. You can use it in place of fresh lemongrass in recipes by reconstituting it in oil or water for a couple of minutes before adding to a dish.