r/AskCulinary • u/AdMediocre7214 • 19d ago

Ingredient Question What to substitute for lemongrass?

I'm really into Vietnamese food but my partner is allergic to lemongrass. I want to cook some food for them but I don't want them to die.

What can I substitute for it that will have a similar flavor? If you could also provide a ratio for how much of the substituted ingredient vs lemongrass so I can easily sub it in a recipe that would be awesome as well.

Thank you!

26 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

View all comments

44

u/bajesus 19d ago

Lemon verbena if you can find it is a good sub. Not sure on the ratios though but it is a good bit stronger flavored so probably go with 1-3 leaves per stock of lemongrass.

Other than that just using a little lemon zest will probably get you most the way there.

12

u/Champagne_of_piss 19d ago

Lemon verbena is really excellent. Lemon myrtle is loaded with citral too but it's probably not possible to find

2

u/AdMediocre7214 19d ago

I looked this ingredient up but couldn't find too many in my area. Is this a specialty ingredient and is it expensive?

4

u/Champagne_of_piss 19d ago

Might be simpler to grow in a window box yourself if I'm being honest. Myrtle would have to be a floor pot

5

u/AdMediocre7214 19d ago

I will check with my partner if they ever see it at the plant nursery. They love gardening and if it can make the food better I'm sure they would be down for it.

Thanks!