Cooking With Lemongrass

Our answer

Nigella's Golden Egg Curry (from AT MY TABLE) has a rich and spicy coconut curry sauce base, made golden with the addition of turmeric. The sauce is soup-like and eggs are poached gently in the aromatic liquid before being served. Lemongrass is also used to add a subtle citrussy note. Lemongrass stalks are slightly woody as the stalks are cut at the base of the plant. The stalks need to be bruised, chopped or ground to a paste to help release the essential oil inside, as the oil carries most of the flavour.

For the Golden Egg Curry recipe the whole stalk should have any dry tips trimmed from the top and then the base of the stalk needs to be bruised by hitting it with a heavy implement, such as a rolling pin, the base of a small saucepan, a meat cleaver or the side of a heavy knife. Do this carefully, making sure your fingers are out of the way! The whole, bruised stalk is added to the sauce and left in while the sauce simmers and while the eggs poach. If you make the sauce in advance then leave the lemongrass in the sauce so that the flavour can continue to infuse. When you ladle the finished curry into bowls you leave the lemongrass stalk behind in the pan.