INGREDIENTS:
For the marinade:
600g chicken thighs (cut into 4cm cubes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 level teaspoons sugar

Other Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 fresh lemon grass stalks (white part only, chopped)
3 small shallots (finely sliced)
2 hot red chillies (seeded and very finely chopped)
2 spring onions (finely sliced)

DIRECTIONS:
To make the marinade: In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the sugar and salt until pulped. Stir in the fish sauce and curry powder. Pour into a bowl with the chicken and coat well. Set aside.

Using a small saucepan, mix the sugar with 1 tablespoon of water and dissolve. Over a high heat bring to a bubble and without stirring let it change colour to form a golden amber caramel. Remove from the heat as soon as it changes then add 3 more tablespoons of water and stir in well. Pour into a small bowl and set aside.

In a pestle and mortar, crush the lemon grass until pulped and very fine. Combine with the shallots and chilli and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat until hot then add the lemon grass, shallots and chilli and stir for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden. Add the chicken and caramel and continute stir frying for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. The sauce will thicken and coat the meat. Remove from the heat and either serve as is, or add 3-4 tablespoons of water to give yourself a little sauce.

SERVING:
Sprinkle with the spring onion and maybe a few toasted peanuts and you’re all set! I served mine with a scrumptious Vietnamese noodle salad, but this dish would work perfectly with jasmine rice.

INGREDIENTS:
Marinade:
1kg whole fish (snapper etc) (gutted and cleaned)
1 tablespoon dried green peppercorns
1 red Thai chilli (chopped, with seeds)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil

Other:
1 small carrot (very thinly julienned)
4 spring onions (very thinly julienned)
4 tablespoons fresh coriander (chopped)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)
1 red Thai chilli (very finely chopped, seeds removed)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 large onion (sliced)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4cm piece fresh ginger (very thinly julienned)
3 garlic cloves (very thinly sliced)
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
Deeply score the fish on each side in a diamond pattern.

Add the peppercorns and chilli to a pestle and mortar and pound into a fine paste. Add the fish sauce and marinade peanut oil and stir till well combined. Brush this paste into the fish, both sides and in the cavity. Leave, covered, for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Wrap the fish in foil and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the flesh pulls away from the skin and is fully cooked through.

Meanwhile, Mix together the sugar, lime juice, garlic, chilli and fish sauce to make the dressing/dipping sauce. Combine the carrot, spring onion and coriander Toss in 2 tablespoons of the dressing and set aside. Pour the remaining dressing into a small bowl to serve alongside the fish.

Heat a large frying pan with the peanut oil over a medium/high heat and cook the onions till browned and slightly charred on the outside (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

When the fish is cooked, place on a large platter and spoon over the onions. Sprinkle with a handful of the carrot and spring onions, serving the rest as a side salad. Serve immediately.

SERVING:
I served mine with the remaining, carrot & spring onion salad, a simple pickled cucumber, carrot and tomato salad, the dipping sauce and some Jasmine rice.

INGREDIENTS:
500g pork stir fry
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lemon grass stalk (pounded to a fine pulp)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
4 long red chillies (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons sugar
25ml fish sauce
25ml soy sauce
salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and a little salt & pepper with 200ml boiing water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok until just hot. Drop in the garlic and stir briefly (20 seconds). Add the lemon grass and chilli and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the pork and stir fry for 1-2 minutes then pour in the sugar/fish sauce liquid. Turn up the heat and simmer vigorously for 1-2 minutes until lightly caramalised. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

SERVING:
Serve on boiled rice with a side of sliced tomatoes and cucumber.

Marinade:
300g beef rump steak
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lime (juice of)
Freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup caster sugar
100ml white vinegar
1/4 cup fish sauce (from anchovies)
1 small red chilli (very finely chopped)
1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)

Salad:
200g cooked vermicelli rice noodles (cold)
1/2 carrot (thinly sliced and left to soak in 2 tablespoons of the salad dressing for 30 minutes)
2 spring onions (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup cucumber (thinly sliced)
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts (roughly crumbled)
1/4 cup fresh mint (roughly torn)
1/4 cup fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
1 tomato (sliced)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a plastic bag with the meat and leave for 30 minutes.

To make the dressing: Pour 100ml of boiling water into a bowl and then pour in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar and fish sauce and stir in the garlic and chilli. Leave to cool. (will keep in the fridge for 3 months!)

Heat a griddle or BBQ and then cook the meat 4 minutes either side (depending on thickness) until medium rare. Rest for 2 minutes then cut into thin slices.

Divide the noodles between 2-3 serving bowls. Add a little carrot, spring onion and cucumber then top with some beef slices. Finish with a sprinkle of peanuts, mint and coriander. Add a few slices of tomato on the side. Serve the dressing separately for your guests to pour over as much as they see fit.

INGREDIENTS:
For the marinade:
1kg pork belly (cut into 5cm chunks)
3 shallots (roughly chopped)
4 cloves garlic (roughly chopped)
4 spring onions (white only, chopped)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fish sauce (from anchovies)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 star anise

Other Ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 small onion (chopped)
100ml coconut milk
6 eggs

DIRECTIONS:
Place the shallots, garlic, spring onions, soy sauce and fish sauce into a food processor and blend into a chunky mixture. Add the pepper and star anise and pour over the meat. Mix well, cover and leave in the fridge for 3 hours.

Heat the oil in a large heavy based pan over a moderate heat. Gently fry the onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Turn up the heat and add half the pork – fry for 2 minutes then add the rest and fry for another 5 minutes. Pour in the marinade, coconut milk and 550ml water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, boil the eggs for 10 minutes from warm water then cool in cold. Peel and set aside.

After the hour of cooking add the eggs to the pan and carefully stir in. Cook for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally before serving hot.

SERVING:
Serve with a small salad of mint and coriander and some pickled vegetables together with some fluffy jasmine rice.

INGREDIENTS:
For the dipping sauce:
1/4 cup caster sugar
100ml white vinegar
1/4 cup fish sauce (from anchovies)
2 small red chillies (very finely chopped)
1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)

For the rolls:
1 duck breast
5 dried rice paper roll sheets
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup mint leaves
3 spring onions (very thinly sliced lengthways)
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
2 cups cooked vermicelli noodles

DIRECTIONS:
To make the dipping sauce:
Pour 100ml of boiling water into a bowl and then pour in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the vinegar and fish sauce and stir in the garlic and chilli. Leave to cool.

To make the rolls:
Score the skin of the duck then place, skin down into a small dry frying pan. Bring the heat up to moderate and let the duck cook for 7 minutes until the skin is crispy and brown. Turn over and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and rest. When cooled slightly, cut into small pieces with the skin intact and set aside.

Fry the peanuts in the oil from the duck until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels then lightly crush into smaller pieces

Mix together the mint, coriander and spring onion and set aside.

Have a large bowl of water (2 cups boiling, 1 cup cold) by your side. Dip in 1 rice paper sheet and plunge to the bottom. Lift out immediately and place flat on a dinner plate. In the bottom half, away from the edges add 1/5 of the duck pieces, a sprinkle of peanuts, a small handful of noodles and a small handful of the mint, coriander and spring onions. Roll up from the bottom, gathering each side in as you go to form fat roll. Arrange on another plate and repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. Chill in the fridge for about an hour.

SERVING:
Serve the rice paper rolls with a side of dipping sauce.

I made this salad to accompany the previous post, lemon grass chicken. It was a delicious, fresh, light and wholesome side dish which almost stole the show. I love Vietnamese cold noodle salads. There is something so intensely fresh and worthy about them. You just know they’re doing you good! I much prefer them to western style salads which I tend to find more of an ordeal to work my way through. This salad uses coriander to great effect in the dressing, mixing it with the ever present fish sauce and lime juice. Tangy, earthy and fragrant – not forgetting delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
For the dressing:
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 handful coriander leaves and stalks
1 small hot red chilli (chopped)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 lime (juice of)
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

Other ingredients:
250g dried rice noodles
4 leaves chinese cabbage (roughly chopped)
1 carrot (finely julienned)
1 small cucumber (peeled, seeds removed and julienned)
4 spring onions (finely sliced)
3 sprigs mint (leaves roughly torn)
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts (dry fried for 2 minutes then crushed lightly)

DIRECTIONS
Boil a kettle then pour the water over the noodles and leave for 2-3 minutes. Drain and cool with cold water – drain again and set aside.

To make the dressing: Crush the garlic with the sugar, coriander and chilli using a pestle and mortar until pulped. Stir in the lime juice and fish sauce and set aside.

Combine the cabbage, carrot, cucumber, spring onion and mint together in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss well with your hands to coat everything. Now add the noodles and combine well, using your hands again.

SERVING:
Pile the salad onto a platter and sprinkle with roasted peanuts. Arrange a few lime wedges around the plate and serve. This makes a delicious side dish, but can easily be enjoyed as a main course. If you’re not vegetarian, toss some poached chicken or cooked prawns into the salad for a more substantial serving.

It says everything you need to know about me that I am unconsciously drawn to peasant food. This is just that, a simple Vietnamese way to cook pork. Paddy Field pork or Caramel Pork as it sometimes called is a mild succulent dish that has me wishing I worked on a paddy field. It’s fantastic.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
100g brown sugar
125ml fish sauce
4 tablespoons shallots (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1-2 small dried red chillies
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
500g belly pork or pork loin (medium diced)
4 hard boiled eggs (shells removed)
2 tablespoons fresh coriander or mint (roughly chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together the fish sauce and sugar and heat over a moderate heat for 2-3 minutes until gently simmering. Add the shallots, chillies, garlic, pepper, pork and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 25 minutes. Drop in the eggs and simmer for 20 minutes until the meat is tender.

Pour the pork and its sauce into a serving bowl then sprinkle with the fresh coriander or mint just before serving.

SERVING:
Serve with steamed steamed rice and a crunchy salad.

Image courtesy of http://vuonhanhngo.18.forumer.com – many thanks.

As I write this I am recovering from quite a decent bout of food poisoning. I have pinned it on an absolutely delicious Vietnamese meal I ate 6 days ago, in a nice, clean restaurant. It’s a shame as Vietnamese is the flavour du jour! However, I am determined not to let it put me off this amazing fresh cuisine. So here’s a recipe for one of my favourite Vietnemse dishes. Tiny, juicy morsels of pork served simply with noodles and salad. It’s pretty damn tasty not to mention actually quite healthy. Just be careful not to poison yourself.

RECIPE: (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS:
Dressing:
4 garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
2 red chillies (seeded and chopped)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 lime (juice of)
4 tablespoons fish sauce

Bun Cha:
500g pork mince
1 teaspoon sugar (mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
1 tablespoon coriander stalk (very finely chopped)
1 egg (lightly beaten)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 cup breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

Salad:
300g vermicelli noodles (soaked and cooled as packet instructions)
1 medium cucumber (julienned)
1 large carrot (julienned)
4 cups lettuce (chopped)
1 large tomato (thinly sliced)
4 tablespoons crispy onions
4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts (chopped)
4 sprigs fresh mint

DIRECTIONS:
Dressing:
In a pestle & mortar grind together the garlic, chillies and sugar to form a thick paste. Add the lime juice, fish sauce and 5 tablespoons of water. Stir well and leave for 1/2 hour to let the flavour develop.

Bun Cha:
Combine with your hands all the ingredients until you reach a smooth paste. Mould the paste into small balls (about the size of a walnut) then flatten to make a small pattie. Place under a hot grill and cook, turning until browned on all sides (about 8-10 minutes), or better still cook on the barbecue until browned.

Salad:
Divide the noodles into 4 deep soup bowl, then top each with a large handful of lettuce then a small handful of carrot and cucumber. Add a couple of slices of tomato then divide the bun cha evenly between the bowls. Finally, sprinkle over 1 tablespoon each of crispy onion and peanuts and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

SERVING:
Pour equal amounts of the dressing over the salads just before serving.

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This was a seafood medley made with various bits and bobs which were floating around my freezer. It’s a vietnamese recipe and uses all the deliciously fresh ingredients you’d come to expect from that part of the world. It’s best eaten in one go so make sure you have 3 people over to enjoy this with you.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger (grated)
3 garlic cloves (chopped)
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 onion (finely sliced)
2 fresh lemon grass stalks (finely sliced)
2 red chilles (seeded and finely sliced)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons shrimp paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
grated rind of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
4 medium sized squid (cut into 1/4s)
12 scallops (shelled)
20 raw prawns (shelled)
3 tablespoons fresh thai basil (roughly chopped)
3 tablespoons fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
salt

DIRECTIONS:
Blend unsing a hand blender or pestle & mortar the ginger and garlic to form a paste. Heat the oil in a wok over a medium temperature. Add the onion, and cook for 4 minutes then add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. Add the lemon grass, chilli and sugar, stir briefly then add the shrimp paste, fish sauce and curry powder, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, lime zest and juice and cook for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with a little salt. Add the seafood, and cook over a high heat until the prawns turn slightly opaque (about 3 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir through the basil.

SERVING:
Sprinkle with the coriander and whip it over to the table and serve it straight from the pan with some boiled rice or bread. Be sure to have some lime wedges and chopped red chillies ready for your guests.