No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This is a quickie dish that only involves two steps ~  pan-fry the seasoned chicken and add in the sauce.  I used chicken thigh because it is more juicy and tender than chicken breast meat.  Lemongrass has a pleasant and refreshing, slightly citrusy smell which can infuse well into the chicken while the fish sauce, although a bit stinky, enhances the flavour.  This can be served with rice or noodles with a salad or blanched veggie on the side. Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken  ~   越南柠檬鸡 Ingredients 3 deboned drumsticks, about 300 gm, cut into bite size 1 lemon grass, white part, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 birdseye chillies, finely chopped 1 onion, sliced 1 tsp lime juice 1 Tbsp fish oil 1 Tbsp sugar Method Season the chicken with a bit of salt, set aside. Lightly pan-fry the chicken till cooked, dish out. In a bowl, mix the fish oil and sugar, set aside. Saute the garlic and lemon grass till fragrant. A...

This stir-fry dish has no sauce, but tender meat and it's fragrant due to the combination of lemon grass and turmeric.  It's also an appropriate nutritious dish for mothers on confinement too. Stir-fried Turmeric Pork  ~   黄 姜 猪肉 Ingredients 500 gm pork fillet 1 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp light soya sauce 1/2 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp oil 2 red onions 3/4 tsp sugar light soya sauce to taste 1 lemon grass, sliced Birdeye chillies (optional) Method Marinate the pork slices with the turmeric powder, salt, sugar, soya sauce.  Mix in the oil. Heat up a pan and lightly fry the pork fillet.  Push the pork fillet aside, add in the lemon grass and onions. Sprinkle some sugar and light soya sauce to taste. Dish up and serve.

Barley, like other cereal or whole grains have various health benefits and being a dietary fiber it contains protein, is a good source of magnesium, vitamin B-6 and iron.  It  helps in weight loss and controls blood sugar.  So much has been said about barley, what about lemon grass?  Lemon grass, a  fragrant herb has anti-fungal and anti-microbial qualities while exuding a distinct lemony smell.  Among many of its health benefits, it helps lower cholesterol and detoxifies the body.  I once had this drink in a Balinese restaurant and it's superb when served chilled! Lemon grass barley drink ~ 香茅大麦茶  Ingredients 2 lt water 100 gm barley pearls 4 pandan/screwpine leaves, knotted 3 stalks of lemon grass, smashed Rock sugar, cane sugar to taste (personal preference) Method Boil water in a pot, add in pandan leaves and lemon grass.  Then add in the washed barley pearls and boil on medium heat for about an hour. When the barl...

I picked up this dish from a very old neighbour, fondly remembered as 'Malay Aunty' as hers was the only Malay family in a totally Chinese dominated neighbourhood, back in the late 50's. Young children addressed her as "Grandma'. She liked her rendang to be cooked dry, with some 'kerisik' (fried coconut) tossed in at the end. On the contrary, I prefer mine to have a little bit of gravy and omitted the 'kerisik'. Chicken Rendang Ingredients : 900 gm Chicken cut into medium size 20 gm young ginger (cut into fine strips) 20 Shallots (cut into slices) 3 stalks of Serai/Lemon grass (crushed) 4 fresh Red Chillies (blended) 3 to 4 pieces of Kunyit/Turmeric leaves (cut into fine strips) 500 ml Coconut milk Salt to taste 'Kerisik'/Fried Coconut - Optional Method  : 1. In a wok, put in the chicken pieces, ginger strips, shallots, turmeric leaves, coconut milk, blended chillies, lemon grass and salt. 2. Cook on high heat and ...

This is a simple yet delicious dish with a few easily available ingredients.  The lemon grass lets outs a citrusy fragrance while the yellow turmeric spice lends a beautiful colour to the dish.   Turmeric not only helps to boost food flavours but it also has many benefits which includes helping to ward off dementia and reduce the risk of cancer, just to mention a few. Lemon Grass Turmeric Chicken ~   香茅姜黄鸡 Ingredients 2 whole leg of chicken, about 700 gm, chopped 2 stalks of lemon grass, finely choppped 2 tsp turmeric powder 1.1/2 Tbsp fish sauce 1/2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1.1/2 Tbsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp cooking oil 50 ml water a dash of seasalt Method Marinate the chicken with the chopped lemon grass, sauces, brown sugar and turmeric powder for a few hours or overnight. Heat up a non-stick pan with the cooking oil, pan-fry the marinated chicken, add in the water, cover with lid and let it simmer till the chicken is tender and cooked thoroug...

Lemongrass tea is a soothing and comforting beverage, which can be enjoyed especially after a heavy meal.  It helps to treat indigestion, constipation, heartburn and diarrhea and its high potassium content also helps lower and regulate blood pressure.  This herbal tea is refreshing and delicious hot or cold, with or without any sweetener. Lemongrass Tea ~ 香檬草茶 Ingredients 6 stalks of lemongrass 6 cups water 6 Tbsp sugar or more Lime Honey (optional) Method Discard the green upper part of the lemongrass Smash the lemongrass using a hammer or meat tenderizer Boil the water and once boiling, throw in the lemongrass Simmer for 30 mins. on low flame Discard the lemongrass and add sugar to taste, mix well Squeeze in some lime juice, mix well Serve this tea, hot or cold. Note Omit sugar if you intend to add honey You can also add in some ginger slices and pandan leaves to boil together with the lemongrass

This is another delicious yet super easy dish to prepare.  Not only does this dish goes well with rice, you can use this pork fillet as a sandwich filling as well.  I made my sandwich with these and enjoyed it tremendously. Recipe for Panfried Lemon Grass Pork Fillet  ~   香茅煎猪肉片 Ingredients 350 gm pork fillet 4 calamansi Marinade 6 pips of garlic, minced 2 Birdeye chillies, chopped 2 Tbsp fish sauce 1 Tbsp light soya sauce 3 tsp brown sugar 1/4 tsp dark soya sauce 3 stalks lemon grass, crushed and chopped Method Mix all the ingredients for the marinade. Rub the marinade evenly on the meat, set aside for a few hours, preferably overnight. Heat oil, pan-fry on both sides till golden brown. Remove and arrange on serving plate.  Drizzle on the calamansi juice before serving.