How do you chop lemongrass

If I'm making a lemon grass coconut flavored rice. I find the tubes of prepared lemongrass work very well and actually has a stronger lemon grass flavored then some of my local sources for stems---which has been mentioned can be very woody.

I would want to know what you are using it for before answering. :) But I agree with bigpan that you must pulverize the lemongrass more before eating it, like pounding it into a paste. In my experience you cannot hand chop it finely enough to eat.

Another method is to smash it with the flat edge of your chefs knife. That releases the essential oils. Don't eat the grass - it is like eating a piece of wood.

First off, you want to focus on the fat, yellowish end of the stalk -- the first couple inches or so. Slice this off and discard the rest.Trim off the hard end and then peel off the outer layer of the fat end of the stalk. Slice the stalk crosswise into thin rings, then rock your knife back and forth across the slices until the lemongrass is finally chopped.