Friday, October 17, 2008

Lemongrass Potato Salad

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The Bento Box Chronicles continue. . .

I have been packing four bentos this week. Two for those looking to loose weight(my mother and husband); 1 for those looking to maintain/gain weight (me); and 1 for a toddler (Belle). But, basically, I want everyone to eat healthy varied diets--and I don't want to make four separate meals. So, I am trying to modify calories my portioning and add ons.

One of the hardest things for me is to create healthful meals that don't skim on mouthfeel. My mother has eaten terrible food for so long and I don't want her to break and buy her old creamy or crunchy favorites. So, as a treat on Friday, I made potato salad.

My husband and I used to adore the Korean potato salad we got at a neighborhood joint. When it went out of business, we started making our own version topped with vinegary cucumbers and onions. But, I have thing about cucumbers--I hate cucumbers that have been sliced and then left in the refrigerator overnight even in vinegar. So that potato salad recipe doesn't work as a bento box option for me.

For an update, the Bento potato salad was rich in lemongrass as I hoped the herbal citric punch would be exhilerating during the work day. With winter coming on, I have been turning to spicier, richer foods, and I have begun using more lemongrass.
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As one might expect, the internet has lots to tell me about lemongrass. It is a perenial plant in warmer climates, native to South Asia, and the edible portion is the fleshy stem. When you purchase lemon grass, look for firm stalks. When you bring them home, cut off the top leaves and reserve for stock making. Then smash the stem like you might smash garlic. At this point, I put this into a food processor. I then put the lemongrass confetti, as it were, and froze it en masse for future use.
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So back to the potato salad, it was delicious. Much better than my vegan hot dog fish that swam upon them. (Photo tutorial for that coming next week.) This potato salad is also my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, started by Kalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Amy and Jonny of We Are Never Full.

Recipe
Lemongrass Potato Salad
Combine and mash 4 medium blue potatoes, 1 small red potato, and 1 not very sweet, sweet potato (I get these small ones from Asian grocery stores that are perfect. If you can't get this, just put in one more white potato)

Add 2 T grapeseed vegannaise, 1 T spicy mustard, splash of rice wine vinegar, splash olive oil, 2 T lemongrass, 1 t ground coriander, salt and white pepper.

In a separate bowl, dress 1 small grated carrot, 1 radish finely diced, and 1 small chopped shallot with lime juice and salt.

Combine the diced vegetables with the potatoes and then add 1 handful of fresh cilantro leaves.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lemongrass and taters... brilliant. If we ever, ever eat carbs again in our house, this is what we'll eat. Hey, want a grater?

glamah16 said...

Those fish are vegan hotdogs! Wow. I love this whole Bento thing. Its looks like lots of fun.

pam said...

What kind of bento boxes do you use?

FOODalogue said...

You do such creative things. Maybelle is a very lucky girl. I love the aromatic of lemongrass and I'm a big fan of rice wine vinegar.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Super for your Bento boxes. That's great. And what a different salad. Looks yummy!

NĂºria said...

I never heard of Lemongrass before but your salad looks so yummy and those little fishes so cute... I bet your little Belle ate it in no time :D

michael, claudia and sierra said...

vegan hot dog fish

only you...

Kalyn Denny said...

Good for you making those bento lunches. The idea of lemongrass potato salad is just brilliant. I'm hoping to grow lemongrass next summer, and my favorite store finally started carrying it.

Anonymous said...

We have lots of lemongrass here, but I never thought of adding them to salads. Thanks for the great tip! :)