My Vietnam is such a beautiful book, it could serve as a cookbook and a coffee table book and make all your foodie friends a little jealous. In the gorgeous tome, author Luke Nguyen and his partner, Suzanna Boyd, travel all over Vietnam from the quiet villages in the northern hills of Sapa to the bustling streets of Saigon. It’s a culinary adventure documented with painterly photographs of dishes and scene-setting glimpses into the regions from which they came. The recipes seem wonderfully exotic and each tells a story.
I was looking forward to cooking out of this book, but the dish I made, Stir-Fried Ginger Chicken, didn’t turn out quite like I thought it would. I had hoped for chicken that had a burst of spicy fresh ginger and a smoky, sweet sticky glaze from the brown sugar. Instead, what I got was a salty and unbalanced dish.
The recipe called for ¼ cup of fish sauce – a hefty helping that overwhelmed the other rather bold flavors of the dish: ginger, garlic, cilantro and brown sugar. If I ever tried to make it again I would reduce the fish sauce amount by half.
Stir-Fried Ginger Chicken (Ga Xao Gung) Serves 4 to 6 as part of a shared meal
The chicken thigh fillet is commonly used in Vietnamese coking, as it is inexpensive and perfect for grilling or frying – it absorbs flavors and remains tender and succulent throughout the cooking process. ¼ tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. oyster sauce
4 Tbsp. fish sauce, divided
2 Tbsp. soft brown sugar, divided
500 g. (1 lb. plus 2 oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken drumsticks, cut into 2-by-3-cm. (¾-by-1¼-inch) pieces
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
10 cm. (4-inch) piece ginger, peeled and julienned
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 small handful cilantro leaves
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar. Mix well, then add the chicken. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 20 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of water with the remaining fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and set aside.
• Place a wok on the stove to heat up, then add the oil and ginger and stir-fry over medium heat until fragrant. Turn the heat up high, then add the chicken to the wok, tossing the chicken to seal all sides. Add the water and sugar mixture, stir for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, cover the wok, and cook for a further 3 minutes.
• Remove the lid and increase the heat to high to reduce the sauce by half, then stir in the sesame oil. Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with cilantro and sesame seeds, and serve with jasmine rice.
Reprinted with permission from Lyons Press What’s your favorite Asian dish to make at home? Tell us about it in the comments section below for a chance to win a copy of My Vietnam: Stories and Recipes by Luke Nguyen. We’ll announce the winner in next week’s By the Book column. And now, we’d like to congratulate Earen, whose comment on last week’s By the Book has won him/her a copy of The Tuscan Sun Cookbook. Earen, keep an eye out for an email from the Sauce crew.
This article appears in August 2012.
