Vietnamese Chicken with Mint – my best Asian dish to date?

If you don’t like to eat chicken breast cause they’re bland and tough, this recipe might change your mind. I got this recipe from Chef Wan’s book, “Simply Sedap!”. It’s one of my favourite recipe books! The instructions are clear and the flavours are always bang-on.

Anyway, I made slight changes in the recipe but they didn’t ruin the recipe so if you have Chef Wan’s book, you may find a slight disparity between what’s posted here and in his book.

This dish was so good that the BF claimed that it’s my best Asian dish to date. That allegation kind of threw me off a little (because I’m certain I’ve made Asian dishes that are comparably good!!!) but I had to agree with him that it was beautifully fragrant and every morsel was juicy, succulent and full of flavour.

# – Vietnamese chicken with mint.

Despite having 10 large red chillies in this dish, it was surprisingly mild! What can I say, the all the ingredients in this recipe really managed to balance one another out brilliantly!

The marinade, finely ground:

  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch of ginger
  • 1 tablespoon of nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground white pepper
  • The spice paste, finely ground:

  • 10 large red chillies
  • 1 tablespoon of shrimp paste (belacan)
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch of ginger
  • Other ingredients:

  • 500 grams of chicken breast, cut into thin strips
  • 3 lemon grass, sliced thinly
  • 60 ml of cooking oil
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt & sugar to taste
  • Handful of mint leaves
  • # – First, throw all the ingredients for marinade into a food processor and blitz till oblivion.

    # – Now throw in the chicken slices into the marinade and mix till they’re evenly coated.

    # – Cover and stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I left them overnight though :)

    # – When ready to cook, chuck all the ingredients for spice paste into a food processor and blitz till oblivion, again.

    # – Set the spice paste aside while you continue with other tasks.

    # – Heat up the oil in a pan and then throw in the sliced lemongrass.

    # – Next, throw in the spice paste and cook till fragrant. Cook for a little while more till the mixture looks like it’s excreting some oil.

    # – Now, throw in the marinaded chicken slices.

    # – When the chicken slices have cooked through, season with salt and sugar to your taste.

    # – Then, stir in the lime juice.

    # – Turn off the heat, throw in the mint leaves and stir.

    # – Vietnamese chicken with mint, DONE!

    As this is a Vietnamese recipe, I am convinced that the original version of this dish may actually contain pork…and that’s exactly what I’d do next hehehe.

    So…my best Asian dish to date? After 10 months of cooking actively? Guess I have to cook more and practise more!

    Attempting to make my own Nando’s peri-peri chicken recipe.

    For years we were bitter that the nearest Nando’s wouldn’t deliver to our home which was only about 5kms away. But that didn’t stop us from eating at Nando’s.

    In fact, if we ever spotted a Nando’s anywhere, it would take precedent over other meal options. Like seriously, we would know where to eat in a heartbeat. Nando’s!

    Recently, we embarked on a slow-carb diet and boy were we happy when we realised that Nando’s has the best slow carb meals! Proteins, vegetables and beans…superb! However, Nando’s still does not deliver to my area :(

    # – Kimberly’s homemade peri-peri chicken!

    But it’s okay now because I can make my own peri-peri chicken at home!

    For the peri-peri sauce:

  • 3 bird’s eye chillies (if want spicier increase amount up to 8 for very hot), chopped
  • 3 ordinary red chillies, chopped
  • 1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 2 tablespoonfuls of oregano
  • 1/2 a cup of olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 70 ml of white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • For the chicken:

  • 1 whole chicken, butterflied and cut into half
  • Some salt
  • By the way, the recipe for the peri-peri sauce yields about 300ml of sauce. Multiply it accordingly if you want to make more, it keeps for a month in the fridge!

    # – First, pour the olive oil into a saucepan over medium heat.

    # – Then add the white vinegar.

    # – When the oil & vinegar mixture starts simmering, throw in the chopped up red capsicums.

    # – As well as the garlic cloves.

    # – Followed by juice of half a lemon. Stir to mix.

    # – Allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes.’

    # – After 15 minutes, turn off the heat. Add the chopped red chillies with seeds and all.

    # – Not to forget the bird’s eyes chillies too, with seeds as well.

    # – Also the oregano.

    # – And lastly, salt. Allow the mixture to cool down slightly, about 10-15 minutes.

    # – After it has cooled down a bit, pour it into a blender.

    # – Blitz till it’s creamy and turn a bright orange. The peri-peri sauce is now done :D

    # – Now, pour about 150 ml of sauce all over the chicken (that’s been rubbed with some salt) and brush it all over. Keep the rest of the sauce.

    # – Stick the chicken in the fridge to marinade for a minimum of 3 hours or best, overnight.

    # – When ready to cook, bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees celcius for 30 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 180 degrees celcius and cook for a further 15-20 minutes.

    # – Peri-peri chicken, DONE!

    # – Serve with grilled vegetables and 3 bean salad (recipe to be posted soon). Pour the remaining peri-peri sauce over the chicken for extra oomph.

    # – And that’s how you make your own Nando’s peri-peri chicken at home.

    The chicken was succulent and full of flavours. The sauce was delicious!

    The BF said that it didn’t taste precisely like the sauce from Nando’s but it’s unmistakably a peri-peri sauce with its own special kick. Happy cooking!

    Sweet & sour chicken recipe.

    I very rarely deep fry my food. Not because we don’t like fried food but cause I hate dealing with the leftover surplus of oil. I guess I could pour the surplus into an oil pot but you know what, I haven’t gotten around to buy one that looks nice and fits into the interior of the kitchen. Yes, this is one of my shortcomings as a human being.

    We’re definitely going to get a electronic deep fryer but before that, we’d need to get a washing/dryer machine, a stand mixer, a new 4-6 slice toaster, a new kettle, a new rice cooker that’s not white in colour…all in that order :P

    # – Sweet & sour chicken recipe.

    Anyway, I made an exception for this sweet & sour chicken because (1) it’s time to redeem myself for sweet & sour chicken disaster circa 2006 and (2) it’s DELICIOUS!

    For the marinade:

    • 2 pieces of chicken breasts, cut into desirable bite size
    • 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate soda
    • 4 tablespoons of corn flour
    • 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
    • 2 tablespoon of chinese rice wine (optional)
    • A pinch of salt and pepper

    For the sweet & sour sauce:

    • 300 ml of water
    • 2 tablespoons of tamarind paste
    • 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or tomato ketchup
    • 1 tablespoon of sugar
    • A pinch of salt

    For the mix of vegetables:

    • 2 medium onions, quartered
    • 150 grams of pineapple, cut into cubes
    • 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
    • 1 large red chilli, seeded and cut into large rectangles (you can use capsicum)
    • A sliver of ginger

    # – First, marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for about 30 minutes.

    # – Then, prepare the sweet & sour sauce by stirring the sauce ingredients together till combined. Set aside.

    # – Heat up enough oil to cover the chickens in a wok and throw the chicken in one by one. Don’t crowd the wok and work in batches.

    # – Remove when golden brown and place on a paper towel to drain.

    # – After all the frying, pour away the oil to leave just about 2 tablespoons in the wok. Throw in the mix of vegetables.

    # – Followed by the sweet & sour sauce prepared earlier. Allow it to simmer gently.

    # – Taste and season with salt if needed.

    # – When sauce has achieved the desired consistency, throw in the deep fried chicken nuggets. Stir to coat chicken with the sauce. Remove from heat to serve.

    # – Sweet & sour chicken, DONE!

    # – Serve with piping hot rice. Yums :)

    The chicken was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. The sauce had just the right balance of flavours while the vegetables were nice & crunchy. Absolutely divine with rice.

    I believe you can substitute chicken with other meats like pork or fish as well. Have fun cooking!