Natural and nutritious Ginger Lemongrass. Beautiful thirst quencher!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup crystallized candied ginger, cut in half
- 1/4 cup palm sugar
- 1 quart ice cubes
- 2 chunks ginger, about 3 inches
- 2-1/2 cups superfine sugar, to taste
- 4 stalks lemongrass, + extra for garnish
- 5 cups water
Instructions
For the Lemon Grass:
- Wash first the lemongrass in a running water.
- Remove all the white powder from the leaves and also a few outer leaves.
- Cut the stalks in half and crush them with the back of a chef’s knife.
- Cut the remaining stalk into extremely thin slices using a chef’s knife.
- In a mortar and pestle, grind the thin slices of lemongrass, then transfer and mix everything using a mini food processor.
- It should turn into a fine moist powder. Set aside.
For the ginger:
- Clean the ginger, carefully removing any dirt. You don’t have to peel it. Thinly slice both chunks. Set aside.
For the lemongrass water:
- Combine the water and lemongrass powder. Bring to a boil and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Filter through a fine sieve.
For the caramel syrup:
- In a sauce pan, melt the sugar without any water over high heat.
- It’s important to carefully watch the sugar; as soon as the edges of the pan start caramelizing, immediately lower the heat to medium-low.
- Gently jiggle the saucepan in circles. Do not use a spoon! Lower the heat to the lowest setting when there are only a few remaining non-caramelized pieces.
- Don’t let the sugar get dark brown or you’ll get a burnt taste.
Assembly time:
- When all the sugar is an amber color, remove from the heat, pause for about a minute (be careful of splattering when the water is added), then slowly add the boiling lemongrass water, palm sugar, fresh ginger and candied ginger.
- Stir constantly with a wooden spoon.
- Bring back to a full boil then let simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from the stove and cool completely.