Lemongrass

Lemongrass, as its name suggests, has a delicious, earthy lemony flavour, and is native to India and Sri Lanka. This citrusy spice goes hand in hand with coconut milk and is used to flavour all sorts of curries, soups, stir-frys, marinades and even teas and desserts all over Asia. The strongly scented oil is used as a mosquito repellent and a natural preservative, which is so effective that it’s even put on ancient papyrus manuscripts to help preserve them for generations to come.

A perennial grass, lemongrass grows in thick clumps with a fat stalk and a tall wispy top. All the flavour is in the stalk, so you want to look for lovely fat, pale-coloured stalks of lemongrass and avoid anything that looks tired and shrivelled. The fresh lemongrass will keep its flavour for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.