Lemongrass chicken and donut crumbs
Plus, a cheat's guide to larb
Since starting my new job in April, my relationship to the food shop has changed drastically. We live a mere 8 minutes from a supermarket, but the idea of coming home, going back out, did I bring a carrier bag, what do we have in the fridge? - it just feels a bit extra. It feels like admin, even if cooking and feeding myself never does. When I freelanced, and worked from home, a long stroll could turn into a food shop, and I could pause working on a story to marinade something, or defrost leftovers for dinner. Now, that routine has gone, and in its place is something new.
There is a greater emphasis on fridge and freezer audits, so I know what I’m working with each evening, but also a greater reliance on making it up as I go along. This is Weekday Me. Once Saturday comes around, we get a little bit more creative – we’ll get duck breasts and pan sear them with a spiky chilli gravy, for example. But Weekday Me likes shortcuts, no faffing around, and quick meals.
Couple of things I wanted to share this week are recipes that feel way more special then they are. First, a lemongrass chicken recipe I figured out on the train home. Yes, it required fresh lemongrass, but I think next time I’m going to get a jar of lemongrass paste for the fridge to make it even easier. I jazzed up some chopped cucumber with herbs and sesame oil for a bit of texture.
The other recipe is a really nice way to use sausages; first in a spicy pasta, and then the next night broken up into a vibrant, spicy larb. Oh, and donut crumbs. I cannot stress enough what a game changer it is for the (I assume majority) of Scraps readers who buy a lot of donuts.
Made-up lemongrass chicken
I follow a few chefs on TikTok, for my sins, and when I saw one of them make chicken skewers marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce, I wanted to try and make a version I could cook down in a pan and serve with rice.
The problem is, the guy didn’t share any measurements, so with a bit of careful watching, and a bit of careful thinking, I figured out what I would include and in what quantities, all while sitting on a train.
The thing I try to do is kind of go OTT on the sticky, umami flavours because I can always lighten it with some lime zest and chilli later. Here’s what I did.
I cut up two chicken thighs into chunks and started cooking them in a hot pan. As the meat began to colour, I added the following: two sticks of lemongrass, finely shredded; two cloves of garlic, sliced; two Thai red chillis, sliced. I let the aromatics sweat and cook down, before adding a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a teaspoon (ish) of fish sauce, and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Then I added 1.5 teaspoons of chilli crisp (you know the kind of gravel-y condiments with loads of crunchy bits). Hot sauce would also have been good, or some harissa paste, or even tomato paste I think.
While I let it all cook down further, I chopped some cucumber, salted it, and sat it in a sieve. Once it released some water, I tossed it with sesame seeds, sesame oil and chopped coriander to have on the side.
Once the chicken was ready, I served it with fluffy rice. This was a rush-hour concoction, but I love the idea of chucking greens in, like bok choi, or shredded cabbage.
Almost-larb with sausage
You know by now that I love larb. It’s been mentioned here more times than I can count so I won’t bore you with the finer details – fish sauce, lime, herbs, spring onions, chilli, all stirred through crispy pork or chicken, heaped over rice or noodles.
I’d busted open some sausages for a midweek pasta (so delicious I didn’t even photograph it – whoops) and later in the week I figured scoring the casings, crumbling the sausage meat out and frying it would help me make a sort-of larb with tons of flavour.
It’s already such an adaptable recipe, but in case you are yet to try it yourself, I’ve shared a few that I like.
Donut crumbs
Finally this week… have you ever bought a bag of donuts, eaten most of them, but then maybe one has gone a bit stale and you don’t want to eat it so much?
Presenting: donut crumbs.
I figured that, much like a stale loaf of bread, any donut would do well blitzed up into crumbs and toasted in a dry pan. I was one million percent correct. Perfect for scattering over puddings – we just had ours with some classic vanilla ice cream one Sunday night.
Some thoughts: I think some butter in the pan, to help crisp the crumbs up and stop the sugar burning, would be good. I also think some flaky salt is a nice idea. Don’t let the pan get too wet though or you’ll end up with delicious stodge; what we’re going for here is crisp sugary crunchiness.
That’s it from me this week – please let me know if you enjoyed Scraps, and please send to a friend in need of more delicious things in their life.