Take your lemongrass stem, turn your cleaver upside down and give a right good thwacking. As the fibres are bruised, the vegetal, fresh, lemony scent wafts up from your cutting board. This is the necessary start of the story.

From here, chop finely and fry with garlic and ginger for the start of a stonking stir fry, slice into ragged rounds and steep for a soul-soothing tea, or pound with a mortar and pestle to mingle amongst the forty-five other ingredients of your amazing, fresh curry paste. 

One stem