Fresh lemongrass tea is just one thing you need in summertime or in a garden party. After a long tiring day, sipping this tea will help you unwind your day!
The first time I sipped lemongrass tea was in a famous café. It was disappointing, because I could only feel a hint of lemongrass. It was served hot with a lemongrass stalk inserted in the glass. I need more of the lemongrass unique flavor.
Lemongrass needs to be cooked with low heat for more than 20 minutes to let its aroma come out or at least it changes color.
I don’t know why it is called lemongrass tea, as there are no tea leaves involved. I guess, it is because you have to brew it to extract the aroma and flavor, so it is called tea. I’d rather call it lemongrass drink.
You can find lemongrass in Asian supermarket and keep it in the freezer. Even when they are dried, you can still use it for cooking or making tea.
WHAT IS LEMONGRASS?
Lemongrass also called Cymbopogon is a tropical island plants in the grass family. It is commonly used as herbs in medicine and culinary in Asian countries.
There are many species in lemongrass. Citronella oil, extracted from citronella grass can be used as insect repellent, soap making, and even for culinary purposes.
Different countries use lemongrass for different purposes. The relaxing aroma can be made into essential oil and soap!
LEMONGRASS BENEFITS
I have always liked the smell and taste of lemongrass in food. I grew up in Indonesia and Indonesian people use a lot of lemongrass in many of their traditional food, like Chicken Rendang and Soto Betawi.
Other than culinary purposes, lemongrass has many amazing health benefits.
If consumed regularly, they can help stimulate the uterus and menstrual flow. It has many antioxidant properties that help prevent the growth of some bacteria and yeast.
It helps relief bloating, pain, anxiety, reduce fever, and prevent infection, too.
I like to keep one bottle of citronella oil spray in my bag whenever I go outside in the evening. It helps repel the mosquitos from biting me.
Lemongrass tea is a simple drink that can help support the health of your body. Please do not think of it as a cure-all disease drink. It is a refreshing drink that helps boost your immune system. Drink in moderation.
It has calming effect on the nerves, so it is alright to drink at night. It helps relax the muscle and induce sleep.
WHAT CAN YOU ADD IN LEMONGRASS TEA?
Additional ingredients you can try are ginger, pandan leaves, mint leaves, and lime. They are suitable to add into lemongrass tea depending on your preference. They will add more flavor to the refreshing lemongrass tea.
Ginger adds warmth to the body, therefore it is best consumed during cool weather, while mint leaves give cooling effect.
LEMONGRASS PANDAN TEA RECIPE
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 4-6 pandan leaves
- 100 gr rock sugar
- 1500 cc water
HOW TO MAKE LEMONGRASS PANDAN TEA RECIPE
- Wash the pandan leaves and lemongrass stalk. They tend to have some dirt at the roots, so you need to wash them thoroughly.
- Cut the pandan leaves and lemongrass stalks and leave them in a pot.
- Put in the rock sugar. You can use regular white sugar if you don’t have any rock sugar. But rock sugar has mild taste of sweetness that is different from regular white sugar.
- Pour in the water.
- Set the pot on the stove. Turn on high heat.
- Cook until it boils. When it boils, turn to low heat.
- Let it simmer for 40 minutes total or until you can see the lemongrass and pandan leaves change colors.
- Turn off the stove. Sieve the lemongrass tea, let it cool down. Put in a bottle, chill it afterwards.
- Drink with some ice cubes, decorate with lemongrass stalk and pandan leaves. Enjoy!
Keep this wonderful drink for up to 3 days in the chiller. So whenever you have guests around, you can serve them this refreshing lemongrass tea.
The pandan flavor adds up wonderful aroma to the drink
NOTE
- If you can’t find fresh lemongrass stalks or pandan leaves in your local supermarket, you can use dried lemongrass or dried pandan leaves. They will have the same flavor and aroma.
- You can substitute rock sugar with regular white sugar, but it will be slightly different. I think rock sugar has milk sweetness that is different than regular white sugar.
Please make this at home! Trust me! You will want to have more than one glass!
If you like this recipe, you might want to try pairing it with the best deep-fried dessert in the world: Banana Fritters a.k.a. Pisang Goreng!
LEMONGRASS PANDAN TEA
Ingredients
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 4-6 pandan leaves
- 100 gr rock sugar
- 1500 cc water
Instructions
- Wash the pandan leaves and lemongrass stalk. They tend to have some dirt at the roots, so you need to wash them thoroughly.
- Cut the pandan leaves and lemongrass stalks.
- Put them into a pot.
- Put in the rock sugar. You can use regular white sugar if you don't have any rock sugar. But rock sugar has mild taste of sweetness that is different from regular white sugar.
- Pour in the water.
- Put the pot on the stove. Turn on high heat.
- Cook until it boils. When it boils, turn to low heat.
- Cook for 40 minutes total or until you can see the lemongrass and pandan leaves have changed colors.
- Turn off the stove. Sieve the lemongrass tea, let it cool down. Put in a bottle and chill it.
- Drink with some ice cubes, decorate with lemongrass stalk and pandan leaves. Enjoy!
Notes
If you can't find fresh lemongrass stalks or pandan leaves in your local supermarket, you can use dried lemongrass or dried pandan leaves. They will have the same flavor and aroma.
You can substitute rock sugar with regular white sugar, but it will be slightly different. I think rock sugar has milk sweetness that is different than regular white sugar.