Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Carol Taylor’s Food Column – Lemon Grass Chicken and Jamaican Chicken Wings

I just love cooking with citrus fruits not only are they healthy but they add such a lovely zing to a dish don’t you think?

Today my dishes includes either Orange or Lemon and when I was thinking about this and don’t ask why because I haven’t a clue my brain just wanders at times and goes off on a tangent.

But the Children’s Nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons, said the bells of St.Clements sprung to mind…Who remembers that? We used to play that game at parties and in the school playground…Did you?

Today I give you a recipe which was originally given to me by my friend Mamik who comes from Indonesia… she makes the most awesome Beef Rendang which I will share with you another day…

These chicken skewers are lovely and moist and making them on lemon grass skewers just enhances that lovely lemon flavour.

Lemon grass Chicken Skewers.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg minced chicken
• 4 – 5 garlic cloves , grated ( adjust to taste )
• 4 tsp white pepper powder
• 2 1/2 tsp salt ( to taste )
• 1-2 egg yolks
• 5 tbsp pounded lemon grass , white part only
• 10 pieces of coriander roots , pounded
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves , finely chopped
• 1 carrot , regular size , grated

• 10 stalks of lemon grass cut the green bit into 10 cm long pieces to make skewers. Lemon grass is very plentiful here but if it is not so where you live then wooden skewers can be used. The lemon grass used as skewers does however impart that lovely lemon flavour which enhances the taste of the chicken.

Let’s Cook!

Mix all the ingredients above together; you may not need all the egg yolk so just add it bit by bit. If the mixture is too sticky you may add a little bit of bread crumb.

Take one dessert spoon of the mixture and shape it on the lemongrass stalk.

Arrange the chicken skewers on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil

Bake it in preheated oven at 180 degree C, for 20 – 30 minutes. The baking time may vary.

My oven tends to be very hot and it takes only 20 minutes, then I switch the oven off, and leave the chicken there for a while to get the slight brown colour.

Enjoy!

These skewers can be served as part of a meal or with a nice salad for a light lunch.
Serve with a peanut sauce.

Thai Peanut Sauce.

Peanut sauce for use with satay or vegetables pancakes anything you fancy it goes with almost anything. I love this easy peanut sauce as it has so much flavour and can be made up really quickly.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (unsalted)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar (palm sugar preferred)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 heaping tablespoon tamarind pulp (soaked in 1/4 cup water for 15 minutes, squeeze the tamarind pulp for juice and discard the pulp)
Spice Paste:
• 6-8 dried red chillies (seeded and soaked in warm water)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 shallots
• 2 lemon grass (white parts only)
• 1 inch galangal
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder (optional)

Let’s Cook!

Crush the peanuts with mortar and pestle or mini food processor until quite coarse and set aside.

Chop the spice paste ingredients and blend until fine. Heat oil and fry the spice paste until aromatic and smells spicy. Add the peanuts, tamarind juice, water, sugar, sweet soy sauce and stir thoroughly.

Simmer on a low heat while continuing to stir for about 3 minutes until the peanut sauce

turns smooth. Serve at room temperature with the satay or vegetables.

N.B. I use fresh peanuts and dry cook in hot pan just make sure you keep stirring or shaking them as they cook very quickly.

I just love this peanut sauce and keep a little pot in the fridge the taste is far superior to any peanut satay sauce I had ever had before I came to Thailand.

I also love cooking with Oranges again they just add that extra zing to a dish and turn an everyday dish into something a little special.

I was given this recipe when I was in Jamaica for my daughter’s wedding.

Which I must say was beautiful, a carrot cake beautifully iced was the wedding cake, steel drums, and a peaceful. Beautiful beach.

It really was amazing and just listening to those steel drums while eating our wedding breakfast it was just heavenly.

It was also while I was there that I discovered how awesome Jamaican food was and do they love their chillies? Oh Yes!

In Caribbean cooking, they have what call is their sunshine kit which includes ginger, bonnet peppers, nutmeg, sweet thyme and bay leaves.

I think I love chilli but those scotch bonnet peppers are something else. They are some hot bad boys. However, I can’t always or very often I should say get scotch bonnet but Thai chillies especially those little Birdseye ones can certainly pack a punch so what I am saying is use whatever chillies you normally cook with.

Jamaican Chicken Wings

Let’s Cook!

Ingredients.

12 chicken wings or drumsticks or a mixture just remember if you mix them cooking times will vary.

For the marinade, you will need.

• 4 spring onions chopped
• 2 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1 scotch bonnet chilli
• A knob of ginger finely chopped
• 100 ml cider vinegar
• 1 tsp cinnamon.
• 3 tbsp of honey
• 1 tsp allspice
• Salt and pepper.

Let’s cook

Put all this in a pestle and mortar and pound away or blitz in a food processor.

Marinate the chicken for at least 3 hours or overnight turning a few times in marinade to ensure even coating.

Cook the chicken on your BBQ or in the oven…wings take about 15 mins on a high heat but test, as they vary, depending on the heat and size and if cooking drums they will take longer.

A nice accompaniment to this is sugared oranges. To sugar, the oranges take two seedless oranges if you can get blood oranges they are better tasting and slice and cut into rings, roll them in 2 tbsp of brown sugar and put on the grill or in a hot pan turning until they are caramelised or they will burn.

I hope you have enjoyed these citrus flavoured recipes as much as we enjoy eating them.

Until next week if you live in colder climes then stay upright and warm…No falling over in the snow and ice and if like me you hail from sunnier climes then drink plenty of water or take lots of ice with it…lol

I think that I shall be trying both those recipes very soon.. sound like real comfort food and perfect for the weather we are having now. Thanks Carol

About Carol Taylor

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetables ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use have to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology:  https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

New additional Blog: http://myhealthyretirement.com/welcome-to-orienthailiving-my-first-post/

Blog: https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

If you have missed previous posts in the Cook from Scratch series you can find them here: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/cook-from-scratch-with-sally-and-carol-recipes/

Looking forward to your comments and it would be great if you could hit a few share buttons..thanks Sally