Stir Fried Chicken and Cashew Nuts

This one is a great little recipe for those of you who don't have easy access to an Asian food market or shop as the ingredients are readily accessible down your local Tesco's or similar. It's also a really tasty number that is easy to prepare and cook, and takes no time at all.

Serves 2

6-7 garlic cloves (small, or around 4 large)
4-5 baby corns
1/2 small onion
2 round pieces of chopped carrot (about 1/2 cm thick)
Rat ear mushroom (not available in Europe, alternative is Enochi mushroom)
1 cup fresh cashew nuts (unsalted)
1 large dried red chilli
2 spring onion (stalks)
100g chicken (chopped into thin, one inch lengths (roughly))

For the seasoning

2 tbsp cooking oil (vegetable oil, not olive or sesame etc)
1 tsp sugar (caster is fine)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce

To serve

Bowl of rice for 2 people

First things first, you need to prepare the vegetables. The baby corn needs to be chopped into small round pieces and set on a plate. Next, chop 1/2 a small onion in half again, and separate the layers using your fingers and put on the plate. The mushroom should be chopped roughly into medium sized pieces, and the carrot sliced into thin pieces.



Next the spring onion; you only need to use the stalk here, not the bulb, so cut that off first. Now chop the stalk in half, and half again, until you have pieces about 1 inch long. Finally for this part, the garlic; an easy way of chopping garlic is to use the side of your knife and bash the garlic against the chopping board - this will split the seams of the skin, and make it easy to peel. Chop up into nice small pieces and put all the ingredients on the plate.



If your chilli is not dried, the best thing to do is leave it in the sun for a few hours. Do not try and dry it out in the oven - trust me, the neighbours will not appreciate it! Once dry, chop diagonally into pieces of equal size (about a cm in length) and put in a bowl along with the cashew nuts.


Now for the cooking bit. Place your wok over a high heat and add the vegetable oil, along with the cashew nuts and dried red chilli. Cook until the cashew nuts turn a light brown (keep stirring to avoid burning) and the chilli starts to give off some flavour.

Once cooked (only takes a couple of minutes), remove the cashews and chilli carefully to a bowl, leaving the oil in the wok; this is to retain the flavours of the ingredients for the recipe.


Next, add the garlic and chicken and cook for one minute, until the chicken turns white.



Now add all the vegetables except for the spring onion (carrot, onion, baby corn, mushrooms). Finally, add all the seasoning (sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce) and turn up the heat, cooking for one more minute and stirring continuously. Turn the heat off, add the spring onion, cashew nuts and chilli, stirring one final time.



Remove to plate along with portion of rice, et voila!

Chicken and Lemon Leaf Skewers

These chicken kebabs were unbelievably good, and the lemon leaf had the most incredible flavor. We grilled these using a standard kitchen grill, but I’m sure they would taste just as great, if not better, thrown on the old barbie.

I have given the amount as serving four people on small skewers; however it is a very light dish, so you could use more chicken to bulk it up.

Serves 4

2 large skinless chicken breasts (3 if smaller)
2 tspn palm sugar
4 Tbspn chopped lemon leaf
2 tspn 5 Spice Powder
4 tspn clear honey
2 tspn ground white pepper

2 tspn fresh chicken stock (in paste form if possible)

To serve:

Small wooden skewers (about 6 inches long), pre-soaked in water for at least 15 minutes (avoids burning).


Slice the chicken into thin, similar sized strips:
Place in a mixing bowl with all the ingredients and stir for a couple of minutes (see photo for visual reference of chopped lemon leaf):

Leave to marinade for 10 minutes. Once marinated, thread the chicken onto the skewers lengthways, stretching the chicken flat.

Grill on a medium heat for 10 minutes, turning every minute or two. Serve either as a starter by itself, or with rice or pitta bread for more of a main meal.

Alternative

If this one isn't quite up your street, or you fancy a change, why not try a marinade of soy sauce, honey and fresh chopped chilli. Simply mix the ingredients and pour of the chicken, leaving to marinade in the fridge for a minimum of half an hour.

When ready, thread the chicken pieces onto some skewers and grill on a medium heat for around 10 minutes (make sure the chicken is cooked white all the way through), turning regularly.

Fresh Spring Rolls / Summer Rolls

The best thing about spring rolls is that you can pretty much add whatever you like to the roll. Fresh spring rolls are very light and healthy, and are great as an appetiser or snack. There are two differences to take into account between deep-fried spring rolls and fresh spring rolls when cooking.

Fresh spring rolls (also known as Summer Rolls): Use square rice paper

All ingredients must be cooked prior to wrapping as necessary (for example pork).

Fried spring rolls: Use round rice paper

Ingredients do not have to be cooked prior to frying.

During the class I took, we used lettuce, pork and prawns to fill our rolls. This is a great, light dish where you can utilise any leftover cooked meat you may have (for example Sunday roast pork/chicken). Just make sure that the meat is sliced small and thin prior to wrapping.

While you could use sweet chilli sauce or soy for dipping, I recommend the ‘Spring Roll Sauce’ which you can find below. It is very quick and easy to prepare, and ingredients readily available.

NB Don't be put off by the 'plasticky' texture of the rice paper, it's very edible!


Serves 4

Square rice paper (at least 12 sheets)
Prawns; tails removed, cooked, sliced in half
Pork; cooked, sliced into very thin 1 inch strips
Round lettuce; chopped fine and long

To serve:

Spring roll sauce (see below)

Spring roll sauce:

2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp chopped peanuts
1 tbsp mixed chopped red chilli and garlic – diced very small
2 level tbsp palm sugar
6 tbsp water
1 tbsp lime juice

Add all ingredients except the peanuts into a small bowl and stir for around 30 seconds. Add chopped peanuts (without stirring).


Take a piece of rice paper, and at the bottom end, add a good amount of lettuce across the width of the paper. Top with a sprinkling of pork, and roll up to the halfway point.

Add two halves of prawn laying side-by-side, and continue to wrap.



Holding the paper together with your fingers, dip into the spring roll sauce to taste.

Hanoi Food Market

I have been around a couple of food markets in Hanoi, but none were as extensive as the one we were taken to during my cooking course courtesy of Old Hanoi restaurant. There was definitely an ‘eclectic’ mix of spices, meats, vegetables and a few things in between…

Chicken plucked and ready to go. Vietnamese eat all parts of the bird, including the head and feet.

Vietnamese and Western bananas – slight size difference!

Pig trotters; a staple of any Vietnamese pregnant woman – apparently they help to produce good quality breast milk.

A bit of beef filleting going on – it is very common to see meat left out in the open air throughout the markets. I asked Anh, our chef, why it wasn’t refridgerated and she told me that every morning it was brought from locals who had dissected the meat earlier that morning, and therefore it didn’t need to be put on ice or refridgerated.

Huge beef loin!

Pig intestines.

Pig hearts and a few livers in the top left corner.

Caged birds, not sure what sort, but I got the impression it wasn't for pets.

A huge selection of different types of rice, beans and lentils.

Massive bucket of snails, not something I'll be dipping into!

Close up.

Selection of fresh fish Catfish – this is the same fish we used for our Steamed Catfish in Lotus Leaf and Tamarind Sauce recipe.

Not sure of name of these fish, however I thought it was a shame they did not have room to swim about, even if they weren’t going to be around much longer!

Chickens to be sold as pets for laying eggs.


So as you can see, the food of Hanoi reaches far and wide, and these were just a few selection shots from our tour. I noticed that duck eggs were as common as chicken eggs, and also bird eggs (quite small) were available easily. If only I had a kitchen and a Vietnamese translator!

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup + Veggie option

This is a recipe that I learned of a few years ago, which I have added to and adapted over the numerous times I have made it. Since observing local Vietnamese cooking their soups, I have incorporated the idea of creating the broth using only the essential ingredients and placing the remaining elements into serving bowls to avoid changing or spoiling the texture.

In terms of the ingredients, these are only my suggestions. The beauty of these soups is that you can pretty much throw anything you want into the mix – for example if you prefer cabbage, swap this for the pak choi, or perhaps throw in some prawns for diversity.

Serves 2

1 large chicken breast, skinless
Shitake mushrooms, small handful
2 spring onions, chopped small along the length

2 pak choi, chopped roughly into long strips
½ red pepper, cut into long, thin strips
Rice noodles, pre-soaked
Ginger, 1 square inch, grated

2-3 chicken Oxo cubes
2 tblsp Fish sauce
1 tblsp Chinese cooking wine

To serve:
1 spring onion, sliced lengthways into thin strips

Coriander, small handful, chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges
Nam Prik
2 large soup bowls


Begin by preparing all the vegetables.

Secondly, place the noodles in a bowl of hot water. It should take around 10-15 minutes for them to become almost cooked. Remove at this stage, and drain under cold water, then divide equally and place in each bowl.

Boil the chicken breast and Oxo cubes (or alternatively just use chicken stock) in a large saucepan using enough water to make two portions of soup. Once cooked through, turn the heat right down and remove the chicken from the pan.

Add the shitake mushrooms, pak choi and ginger to the chicken broth, keeping it on a low heat.

While the vegetables are cooking, cool the chicken by running under cold water and tear into small, thin strips (this is easy to do if you go in the direction of the grain).

Add to the soup bowls along with the pepper and chopped spring onion.

Add the fish sauce and Chinese cooking wine to the broth, stirring well. Pour the broth over the noodles, chicken and vegetables.

Add the spring onions that have been cut into long strips and the coriander on top of soup. Serve with Nam Prik, lime wedges, spoons and chopsticks.


Veggie option

Create the clear broth using vegetable bouillon (stock) and substitute the chicken for tofu.

While I am becoming a little more partial to the tofu stuff, I can’t unfortunately advise you on the best method of cooking. I will just assume as you have been adept in stumbling onto The Nibbling Toad, you will be tempted enough to Google the cooking technique. Here’s what I came across anyway...

Forget Sainsbury's

What I love about going to food markets is the array of fresh food on offer, as well as all the smells, variety of colours - and of course any free tasters! The other added bonus is that it's nearly always cheaper than any supermarkets.

Asia is also great for it's variety of food, and food markets here are definitely an exciting place to visit - albeit 'slightly' different from the UK. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...




They eat all parts of the chicken here, including the head and feet. Perhaps not to everyone's tastes...

Take your pick...

This lady was particularly handy with a meat cleaver! A slightly different filleting experience.

Amazing array of vegetables - couldn't get them all in. You'll find the classic British potatoes, tomatoes, onions etc along with plenty of great produce specific to Vietnam.

Meat is certainly treated differently in Vietnam; as you can see here it's laid out in the open air along with all the fruit and veg.


So there are definitely some noticeable differences to food markets you'd find back in the UK - notably the meat being left out. We also saw this happen in the supermarkets - meat is rarely packaged and although kept in refridgeration cabinets, the doors were left open. Although to us this would seem unacceptable (I can just picture 'Kitchen Nightmare's' fallout!), it just seems to be the norm, and something you just have to accept as standard. It most definitely should not put you off trying the food, as it is an experience not to be missed.