Typically it’s merely a matter of slicing one thing right down to a manageable form and measurement. My colleagues have written useful tutorials on all method of knife work; the most recent, by Daniela Galarza, breaks down (pun supposed) slicing, dicing, chopping, mincing and julienning, and it’s price a learn (and a save). Even produce with a very robust or knobby (or each) pores and skin — I’m serious about celery root and winter squash — can often be tamed with the assistance of a pointy peeler. And loads of different issues don’t should be peeled in any respect.
Now and again, although, you come throughout one thing the place the road between robust pores and skin and nice inside appears notably blurry.
Get the recipe: Lemongrass Tofu
I’m speaking about lemongrass.
If you happen to’re like me, and your favourite flavors are citrus or citrus-adjacent, the fragrant root that’s so in style in Southeast Asian cooking is a must have. However these lemongrass stalks launch their aromatic deliciousness solely when you hack your means by way of the protecting exterior. Off with the woody inexperienced prime, together with all of the dry, fibrous outer leaves! Off with the extremely exhausting backside core! Solely after such bushwhacking will you end up with a decent, pale inexperienced and white stalk that’s now yours to cut.
After which it’s important to chop it.
As with so many issues associated to Vietnamese cooking, I flip for assist to my good friend and skilled cookbook creator Andrea Nguyen. On her web site, Viet World Kitchen, her tutorial consists of this gem: “My golden rule in coping with lemongrass is that this: you may’t chew what you may’t chop.” That’s, maintain peeling till you get to the a part of the lemongrass that your knife can certainly make its means by way of. (Any trimmed leaves may be steeped for an exquisite tea.)
Even the chopping, although, can take its toll and boring your knife blade, she writes. One suggestion: Smash it with a mallet first, breaking the fibers and making it simpler to cut. Or grate with a Microplane grater. She additionally has sensible concepts for storage: You possibly can freeze prepped stalks, which renders them simpler to cut; or blitz them in a meals processor with some oil after which freeze in ice-cube trays.
That means, while you run throughout stunning specimens — on the farmers market, Asian market or typical grocery retailer — you may reap the benefits of the bounty and set your self up for a lot of extra meals.
When you’ve prepped your lemongrass, what must you do with it? I discovered a beautiful recipe in Uyen Luu’s newest cookbook, “Vietnamese Vegetarian,” that makes use of it as the principle flavoring within the aptly named Lemongrass Tofu. You mix the chopped lemongrass with different aromatics and sauces for a marinade that turns right into a glaze while you pan-fry the tofu.
Apart from the flavour, my favourite a part of the recipe is the form of the tofu: Somewhat than the everyday cubes or slabs, you chop it into lengthy batons, which remind me of these aromatic stalks that make it so delectable — as soon as you chop them right down to measurement.
Get the recipe: Lemongrass Tofu