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Baby Chicken Char English
Baby Chicken Char English
Ga La Chanh
Variations of this dish appear on bia hoi menus across the country, but it is the
version from the Centre of Vietnam I enjoy most. The galangal, lemongrass and
chili in the marinade give it a wonderful perfume when grilled and creates a
complex taste sensation on the palate.
Ingredients
1 small chicken
12 Kaffir lime leaves
2 garlic cloves
½ long red chili, seeds removed
2 cm galangal, peeled
1 lemongrass stalked, green part only
2 shallots, peeled
¼ tsp five spice
¼ tsp brown sugar
½ tsp cracked black pepper
1 tble fish sauce
1 tble vegetable oil
Salt, Lime and Chili Dipping Sauce (see page###)
Method
To bone the chicken, remove wing tips with a sharp knife. Then run your knife in a
straight line either side of the backbone. Take the backbone in one hand and hold the
breast with the other. Pull the backbone towards you. If you have cut all the way through
the skin and tendons, the bones should come away easily. Discard the wing tips and the
backbone and lay chicken on a plastic tray while preparing the marinade.
Roughly chop the lime leaves, garlic, chili, galangal, lemongrass and shallots. Place
ingredients in a mortar or food processor. Add the fivespice, sugar, pepper, fish sauce
and oil and turn into a paste.
Marinate in the lime leaf paste for four hours.
To cook, heat a grill or barbecue. Place chicken skinside down onto the hot grill. When
char lines appear, turn the bird over and continue cooking for approximately 15 minutes
until done.
Cut chicken into eight pieces and arrange on a central platter.
Dip chicken into the spicy, salty and sour sauce just prior to eating.
Coconut prawns
Tom Chien Dua
This moreish snack works well with an icecold beer. If fresh coconut is unavailable,
shredded coconut can be found in the freezer section of most Asian supermarkets.
Ingredients
1 ½ kg prawns
200 g flour
100 g tapioca flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp annatto oil (see page##)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
270 ml water
500 g shredded coconut
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Classic Dipping Sauce (see page ##)
Method
Remove shell and intestinal vein from the prawns, leaving the tail intact. Season with salt
and set aside while making the batter.
Combine the two types of flours and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, add
annatto oil, eggs and water, and whisk to form a smooth batter.
Heat oil in a deep pan or wok.
Put shredded coconut on a plate. Assemble prawns, batter and coconut next to heated
wok: Dip prawns into batter, remove and shake off any excess, then roll the prawns in the
shredded coconut. Immediately fry in hot oil. Cook until beautifully golden brown,
remove and drain on absorbent paper. Continue with remaining prawns.
Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
Fried rice with cuttlefish, pineapple and dill
Com Rang Muc Va Thi La
Fried rice is an excellent way to use up old rice. When steaming rice, I always add
extra for the next day's breakfast or lunch.
Ingredients
600 g cuttlefish
1 tble fish sauce
½ tble vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tble annatto seed oil (see page##)
6 cups of cold steamed rice
2/3 cup podded peas, blanched
1/2 pineapple, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
1 cup of dill, roughly chopped
Soy Chili Dipping Sauce (see page ###)
Method
Clean the cuttlefish by opening the bag and removing the hard cuttlebone. Remove the
ink sac and tentacles. Separate the tentacles by cutting them just below the ink sac. The
"beak" (the hard core) should now easily pop out if you press with your fingers. Discard
the ink sac and beak. Rinse the cuttlefish bag and tentacles under cold water, pulling off
any outer mauve coloured membrane. Drain and pat dry. With a sharp knife score the
cuttlefish bag, and then cut into three cm strips. Also cut the tentacles into three cm
lengths. Marinate in the fish sauce for ten minutes.
Heat vegetable oil in a hot wok Add eggs and cook for one to two minutes, rotating the
wok to ensure the eggs are cooked evenly. Remove from wok and set aside. When cool
enough to handle, chop omelettes into bitesize pieces.
Wipe out the wok with an old cloth or brush and return to the heat. When hot, add the
cuttlefish. Keep the wok moving to prevent it from sticking and to cook evenly. When
opaque, remove cuttlefish from wok and set aside.
Place wok back on heat. Add annatto oil and pineapple. Toss pineapple in hot oil for
three minutes or until it is slightly coloured. Quickly add the peas and the rice. Keep
tossing the wok as the rice will stick easily at this stage, and to ensure all the rice grains
are coated with annatto oil. When the rice has heated through, return the cuttlefish to the
wok along with cooked eggs and the chopped dill. Toss to mix and then remove from
heat.
Place the rice onto a large platter and serve with soy chili dipping sauce on the side.
Eel filled with pork, lemongrass and mushrooms
Cha Luon Va Lon
Once grilled the skin on these sandwichlike eel parcels will puff up and can be
easily removed. If eels are unavailable, or the thought of removing the back bone too
daunting, a firm white fish such as BlueEye can be used instead.
Ingredients
2 mediumsize eels
1 long red chili, chopped
1 garlic, chopped
2 tble fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
Filling
3 Chinese mushrooms
250g pork, minced
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped
1 tble fish sauce
1/3 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
Vegetable oil for frying
Accompaniments
1 butter lettuce, separated into cups
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup Thai basil leaves
Classic Dipping Sauce (see page ##)
Method
To bone the eel, use a sharp knife and make a slit from the tail to the head. Remove guts
and rinse in cold water. Cut off and discard the head. Carefully run knife between the
bones and the flesh to the backbone, remove bones and discard. Now cut the eel into 5
cm sections and pat dry with absorbent paper.
Combine the garlic, chili, fish sauce and sugar and pour over the eel. Allow to marinate
for 20 minutes while you prepare the filling.
For the filling, firstly pour boiling water over mushrooms and allow to soak for 20
minutes, then drain and squeeze to remove any excess liquid. Place mushrooms on a
chopping board, remove the tough stems, then chop the mushrooms and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the mushrooms, pork, shallots, lemongrass, fish sauce, black pepper
and sugar. Mix well.
Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling into the cavity of an eel section, folding the eel
over like a sandwich. Continue with remaining eel pieces
Preheat a barbecue or grill. When hot, brush eel with a small amount of oil and grill on
both sides for approximately six to eight minutes.
Serve with lettuce, herbs and dipping sauce