How much lemongrass do I need?

[Mazdoy]

Tonight I'm making a tofu & veggie stirfry (for 2 people).  I've never used lemongrass before but I have some in the fridge so I'm going to add that too but I'm not sure how much I need. 

I tried googling for recipes and they seem to suggest mincing two pieces of lemongrass.  This seems like a lot to me, is it?  Does anyone know if I can just chop it finely instead of mincing?  Along with the tofu and veg I'll be using grated ginger, dark soy sauce and minced chillis.  The last thing I want to do is overpower the dish with lemongrass.

[Shoo]

I don't know how much you should use, but I do know this:

Cut your lemon grass stalks into BIG pieces.  Big enough that you can easily find them before serving, so you can fish them out.  They are not edible.  It's like trying to eat a tree branch.


ETA:

Just re-read the suggestion about mincing the lemongrass.  This might work, if it's minced into microscopic pieces.  I cut it into 1" pieces one time, and the dish was completely ruined.  Other recipes I've seen suggest 4" - 5" pieces, used just for infusing flavor, and then removing them.

[Mazdoy]

So is it just for flavour?  Like a bay leaf?

Or is there a non stalky edible bit at the top that can be eaten (I didn't look too closely!).

[Mazdoy]

Aha, your edit has answered my question!

Thank you!

[blarg314]

And peel it first - you cut off about the top half, cut off about a centimetre at the bottom, and then peel off the outer leaves to reveal the softer centre.  What's left about 1/3 the volume of the initial piece.

With that, you can mince it finely and leave the bits in, but a stalk or two is probably about right.

[Mazdoy]

I used it last night successfully (I think!).
I used two pieces and I could really get the flavour.

Thanks for the help!