Category: <span>Cookery</span>

I am a self-confessed sweet-tooth. No, my addiction goes beyond that. I don’t crave sugar. Instead, I N-E-E-D deep, intense, rich, and chocolatey treats. I have been known to over-indulge, too. The past sixteen months have enabled me to indulge without guilt first because I was pregnant, and then because I was a nursing mother. Nursing hunger is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Somehow, nursing hunger could always be satisfied with a chocolate treat and almost never with anything savory or healthy. I’ve given in and enjoyed rich desserts and savories. But all good things must come to an end and as we transition Eliza to solid foods, I can no longer eat for the both of us. I also don’t [have time to] hit the gym though—my hats off to any parent of young children who has the energy to go. And with that, I’ve been relegated to find means to satisfy my chocolate needs without compromising my current wardrobe.

Alas, I’ve come across a cookie recipe that doesn’t contain flour or sugar and yet still contains peanut butter (mmm…), oatmeal, and chocolate chips. These went like hotcakes at my house and I’ll be making them again.

I’ve begun to grow tired of familiar flavor profiles and decided to look around for some inspiration. Fascinated by southeast asian and indian cuisines for a long time now, I find their spicy and flavor-forward profiles incredibly inviting. Lemongrass, to me, is an incredible edible the aroma of which is so fragrant that it instantly perks up anything you add it to. It just so happens that lemongrass goes great with ginger, garlic and chiles (which I did not use this time around). These aromatics lend themselves naturally to infusing their flavor into coconut milk and make the perfect sauce.

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 stalks of lemongrass (~6 inches each) battered and minced

2 inch knob of ginger, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1.5 lbs ground chicken

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 egg

15 oz coconut milk

1 tbsp fish oil

juice of 1 lime

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, lemongrass, ginger and garlic to a large, 12 inch, stainless steel skillet and sauté on medium heat until the aromatics are translucent and tender or about 10 minutes. Meanwhile combine the ground chicken, salt, bread crumbs and egg in a bowl mixing lightly. Add half of the aromatics to the meat mixture and reserve the remaining half in a dish. Add the remaining 2 tbsp oil to the skillet. Form 12-15 meatballs and place in the heated oil in the skillet searing them until golden brown on all sides ~10 minutes. You may have to sear the meatballs in two batches to avoid crowding. Once all the meatballs are browned, add the remainder of the aromatics back into the pan followed by coconut milk. The milk will help deglaze the pan. Make sure to use a wooden spatula to scrape up all the bits of browned chicken off. Stir in the fish sauce and lime juice to the pan. Return the meatballs to the pan, cover and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve with vermicelli rice noodles and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!