Pandan Lemongrass Drink

On my side of the world today, it was sweltering sweltering hot. Nevertheless, that is good weather of course :) Yes, if you could guess it, I'm a person who would love the cold weather anytime. You would probably be thinking, she doesn't know what she is saying since cold biting weather could be horrid too. Yes possibly but I would still love it :P Hahaha, ok, ignore me. It's the prelude to the return to office tomorrow, after a long long 3 weeks of recovery. Yes, I have mixed feelings about that one - I'm happy to be back to work but yet I'm sad to leave this 'relaxed' life. For now, at least, for now :)

Anyway, let's not get sidetracked. I'm here to talk about this refreshing drink - pandan lemongrass drink. The first time I tasted a similar drink like this was when I visited this spa in Bangkok years back. The route to that spa was a pretty hot one and when we reached the spa, we were welcomed by this drink. Trust me, it was a saviour and I truly loved it. The fragrance of pandan and lemongrass in that drink did it for me. It took me a long while to identify what was in that drink and when I did, I was pretty excited about it ;P

This recipe from The Food Magazine is so easy peasy and you can do it when you feel like it without having to wash a whole load of dishes which is what I dread sometimes. Do you ever wish you have a machine that helps you to clean the dishes, dry the dishes and put them back to wherever it's supposed to be? I do. Maybe someday that machine will be existent.

Ingredients:

• 2 pandan leaves (screwpine leaves), washed and tied into knots
• 2 fresh stalks of lemongrass, bruised
• 5 cups water
• 2 large lemons, juiced
• honey, to taste

Method:

1. Tie the pandan leaves into knots, place inside a large pot with the dried lemongrass and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn heat off and strain.
2. Place the strained liquid back in pot or large pitcher, pour in the lemon juice and desired honey. Allow to cool for 15 minutes then place inside refrigerator until ready to serve.

Personal Notes:

• I only used the white stalk part of the lemongrass and I bruised it with my knife to enable the fragrance of the lemongrass to infuse into the water gradually

Honestly, I love the fragrance of the pandan leaves and lemongrass in the drink but I think lemon juice definitely overpowers this light fragrance. I would eliminate the lemon juice the next time I make this drink. Don't get me wrong, I'm a lemonade lover but just that, for me, the heroes in this drink are the pandan and lemongrass so I think it should be just those.

If you are feeling the heat, make this drink. I'm sure you will love it!

I'm submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up, an event organized by Doreen of my little favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Joceline from Butter. Flour and Me.

I'm also submitting this post to Cook-Your-Books #4 organized by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.