Tag Archives: vietnam

Thơm Orange om vịt với đu đủ Salad – Fragrant Orange Braised Duck with Papaya Salad

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WP_20140705_16_46_29_ProNo apologies for taking you back to Vietnam this post, the fresh vibrant and light punchy flavours seem to work during the hot and steamy weather we are experiencing at the moment. If you have been following, and trying the far eastern posts you should have most of the ingredients for this recipe to hand.

On the cookery course I attended in France recently we made Crepe Suzette, which was delicious, we also had, and did lots with Duck. I remember Duck a l’orange   in the 70’s and thought that there must be a way to combine the memories into something a bit more vibrant. In Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey there is a recipe similar to this, but this is my interpretation of Vietnamese flavours with some decent heat, its just great!

You will need the following ingredients to make this sing for 2 people!

Dressing

  1. 5 Tbls Fish Sauce
  2. 1 Tbls Rice Wine Vinegar
  3. 2 Limes (Juiced)
  4. 2 Tbls Water
  5. 2 Tbls Palm Sugar
  6. 1 – 2 Red Chilli (finely sliced)
  7. 1 Clove Garlic (finely minced)
  8. 4 – 5 Drops Sesame Oil

Braised Duck

  1. 4 Duck Legs
  2. 1 Litre Orange Juice
  3. 3 Cloves garlic
  4. 4 Red Thai Chilli’s (whole)
  5. 1 Red Thai Chilli’s (finely sliced)
  6. 2 Shallots (finely sliced)
  7. 1 Lemongrass Stalk (roughly chopped)
  8. 4 Star Anise
  9. 4cm Length Cinnamon
  10. 1 Tbsp Tamarind
  11. 1 Tsp Shrimp paste
  12. 1 1/2 Inches Galangal (sliced)
  13. 10 Black Peppercorns
  14. 4 Spring Onions (roughly sliced)
  15. Maldon Sea Salt for seasoning

Papaya Salad

  1. 1 Papaya (sknned and cut into 1 c.m. cubed)
  2. 2 Spring Onions, Sliced
  3. 1 Red pepper (Julienned)
  4. 1 Handful Green Beans (blanched and cut into 1 inch lengths)
  5. 1 Handful Bean Sprouts
  6. 1 Handful Cashew Nuts (Freshly Toasted & Salted)
  7. 5 – 10 Mint Leaves (Chiffonade)
  8. 5 – 10 Holy Basil Leaves (Chiffonade)
  9. Bunch Coriander, chopped

WP_20140705_17_11_54_ProFirst thing to do is render some of the fat of the Duck Legs, take a Dutch Oven and place on a COLD hob, season the Duck and place in the pan, turning the heat to medium. This stage takes about 15 – 20 minutes depending on their size. Once you have done one side, repeat and you should have a reasonable amount of fat in the pan. Put the legs to one side and drain most of the fat off to use for roasties or whatever takes your fancy! Watch the Duck as mine had a tendency to stick to the pan. Stick your oven on about 150 degrees (fan) 160 deg (convection).

WP_20140705_17_18_30_ProNext, take all the spices for the braising liquor and fry in the remaining Duck fat until they release their aroma, then add the Orange Juice and shrimp paste and then the Duck Legs, making sure they are covered in the liquor. The whole lot goes covered, in the oven for about 1.5 – 2.0 hours.

WP_20140705_17_22_40_ProAs with many of the recent posts, a lot of the tasks in hand are more assembly than cooking, in this case, whilst the Duck is slowly braising you can prepare some of the other ingredients.

WP_20140705_19_16_04_ProFor the salad there are a few things to do, roast the Cashews in a frying pan, and lightly season with Maldon Sea Salt whilst they are still hot. Blanch the Green Beans in boiling water for 3 -4 minutes (removing the squeaky nature!), and refresh in cold water. Make the dressing, I usually start with the Fish Sauce and Water, add the Palm Sugar and stick in the microwave oven on full for 30 seconds or so. This helps the Palm Sugar dissolve. Grate in the Garlic and add the Lime Juice, and chopped Thai Chilli. The Sesame Oil is very strong so only use a few drops and then taste, it should be a background flavor.

WP_20140705_19_33_22_ProWe are nearly done. next stage is to remove the Duck Legs carefully from the pan, and reduce the remaining sauce until ‘gloopy’ and thick enough to stick to, and coat the back of a spoon. Its worth passing the sauce through a sieve first, but retain the pieces of Spring Onion as they can go onto the dish with the sauce. The Salad can be prepared whilst the sauce is reducing, but don’t add the dressing until the last minute. When the sauce has thickened pour boiling water over the noodles as per the instructions (mine needed 3 minutes) to cook.

WP_20140705_20_12_01_ProDrain your Noodles and place them on the plate, lay the Duck legs on top and add the sauce with cooked Spring Onion, its deep, rich and comforting (with some heat!). The Salad adds a cold, but HOT element from a spicing perspective, the Cashews add crunch and there is some bitter as well so back to the old Yin Yang so beloved of Vietnam.

WP_20140705_20_14_43_ProThis is a cracking dish, the Duck is meltingly soft, the Orange sauce, Tangy, Spicy and inviting, the contrast with the Salad which is even hotter, but with Sweet elements from the Papaya with Salt and crunch from the Cashew Nuts.

I may drift around the world next time and see what I can find that’s new and different to cook.

Till next time……………………….L8ers…………….

 

 

 

 

Thơm cay salad gà Với Mì – Vietnamese Fragrant Spicy Chicken Salad with Noodles

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Another mind trip to the Far East, in this case Vietnam has inspired me to look for some more healthy, fresh and taste bud exploding  food.  Trawling through Rick Steins ‘French Odyssey’, and Uyen Luu’s ‘My Vietnamese Kitchen’ produced a couple of interesting recipes, this is my adaption and interpretation of them both. France had a massive influence on Vietnam, it was a part of the French Colonial Empire until 1954, when Viet Minh (league for the independence of Vietnam) won a decisive victory against French forces at the gruelling Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

WP_20140503_15_47_31_ProFor this lip smacking recipe you are going to need a few ingredients, there are 3 stages to make this work. Buy THE BEST chicken you can afford, I chose two supremes from our local awesome farm shop Casey Fields, its not injected with anything so has great TEXTURE, unlike the stuff in supermarkets, its makes a difference in this dish, due to the very texture.

Poaching Liquor

  • 1 1/2 inches of Galangal or Ginger if you can’t get it
  • 1 Stalk Lemongrass, bashed with a rolling pin and halved widthways
  • 3 Star Anise
  • 4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
  • 1 Shallot, quartered
  • 1 Red Thai Chilli
  • 1 Green Thai Chilli
  • 1 Garlic Clove, quartered
  • 1 1/2 Litres water

Chuck all the poaching ingredients and water into a saucepan, bring to a boil and place the Chicken in the liquor, allowing to simmer gentle for 8 – 10 minutes lid on, then take off the heat and let cool right down which can take 2 – 3 hours. This ensures the Chicken is cooked, but remains moist and soaks up the flavours. You are going to use the liquor again, so DON’T throw it away!!

WP_20140503_16_01_44_ProThe next stage is to prepare the sauce, this imparts the Sour, Bitter, Sweet, Spicy, Salty which is typical of Vietnamese Cuisine, this is the balance of 5 elements, spicy (metal), sour (wood), bitter (fire), salty (water) and sweet (Earth), corresponding to: five organs the gall bladder, small intestine, large intestine, stomach, and urinary bladder. Its all about the Yin Yang balance and you can find more about is HERE.

WP_20140503_16_46_44_ProTHE Sauce

  • 4 Tbls Fish Sauce (Nam Pla)
  • 2 Tbls Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1 Fresh Lime (juiced)
  • 2 Tbls Palm  Sugar
  • 1/2 – 1 Garlic Clove very finely sliced
  • 2 Finely Sliced Thai Red Chilli’s
  • 1 Slivered Thai Green Chilli (add when finished as a colour balance)
  • 1 Halved and Sliced Shallot
  • 1/2 – 1 Tsp Corn Flour mixed with a little water

ALL +/- to taste.

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan except the Corn Flour and heat until the Palm Sugar has melted into the sauce, then TASTE TASTE TASTE, you are looking to strike a balance between each of the elements, your palate will tell you what you need to add more off, in my case I needed more Lime Juice and more Palm Sugar, but keep adjusting CAREFULLY until its tastes right for you. When you are happy with the flavour and the sauce is hot (temperature wise!), thicken with some Corn Flour and Water, you are looking for a ‘gloomy’ slightly thickened texture that would coat the back of a spoon and stick. Finally, add the slivered Green Thai Chilli and set aside to cool.

WP_20140503_17_05_36_ProWe are almost ready now, and just a couple of stages to go….. Sorry my food is not that often as simple as opening a can of beans!

We need to add some texture elements to the dish, which come in the form of Roasted and Salted Peanuts and Hoe Fun Rice Stick Noodles. I used raw peanuts, removed their skins by rubbing between fingers (a but laborious, but kind of relaxing), and then placing them in a hot frying pan with a SMALL amount of oil and sprinkled with sea salt cooking until they change colour from Pale blond, to light brown.

WP_20140503_18_45_43_ProHoe Fun Rice Stick Noodles are made from Rice Flour and Water, and readily available, similar to Vermicelli Noodles, just thicker and flat in shape. We are going to cook them two ways, the first requires a handful to be soaked in cold water for 15 minutes, this will soften them, but not noticeable. Remember the poaching liquor for the Chicken, well take the Chicken out and place the Liquor into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Plunge the Noodles in the boiling liquor for no MORE than 1 Minute, then remove, strain and sprinkle 4 – 5 DRIPS of Sesame Seed Oil to lubricate and prevent them from sticking together too much. Be CAUTIOUS with the Sesame Oil, its very pungent and its supposed to be a background flavour in this dish, too much and Yuch, so its no more than about 4 – 5 drops and mix in with the cooked Noodles, you have been warned.WP_20140503_19_12_12_ProFor the Salad you will need the following ingredients

THE Salad

  • 1 Chicken Breast/Supreme per person (Poached as above and left to cool)
  • 1 Handfull Roasted Salted Peanuts per person (cooked as above)
  • 1 Half Cucumber, Seeds removed per 2 people (so 1/4 lengthways), thinly sliced
  • 2 Spring Onions per person, cut at the angle
  • 1 Handful Bean Sprouts per person
  • 1 Handful Hoe Fun Rice Stick Noodles (cooked as above)
  • 2 Tbls Sesame Seeds, toasted in a frying pan
  • 5 Mint Leaves Chiffonade per person
  • 1/2 Bunch Coriander thinly chopped per person
  • 1 Handful Hoe Fun Rice Noodles (Deep Fry them at 190 Degrees and they puff up and go crispy, drain on kitchen paper)
  • 10 Muntok White Peppercorns, freshly ground (pestle & mortar if you have one), and sprinkled over at the last minute

WP_20140503_19_21_59_ProYou can see most of the Ingredients in the picture above. Firstly take the Chicken, pull it apart into thin strips and place on a plate, drizzle some of the dressing over the Chicken and then add the thinly Sliced Cucumber and Spring Onion. Drizzle some more dressing and then the Chiffonade of Mint, it should look something like this.

WP_20140503_19_34_50_ProNext job is to Spread over the Bean Sprout’s, Coriander, Peanuts, Sesame Seeds and the rest of the Sauce, take the handful of Rice Noodles straight from the packet and put into the fryer, they will cook in seconds, puffing up buzzing. Drain on Kitchen paper, sprinkle with some Sea Salt and place on top of the Salad. The last step is to season with WHITE pepper, I use Muntok Pepper from Steenbergs, freshly ground in a pestle and mortar seconds before serving, its adds another flavour dimension and really adds to the dish, adding a hot slightly Bitter element, so important in Vietnamese Cuisine.

WP_20140503_19_41_46_ProSo there you have it, Vietnamese Fragrant Spicy Chicken Salad with Noodles, it is a seriously tasty dish, takes a bit of effort but well worth it. Be warned though, it is quite spicy, not quite as much as the Weeping Tiger Salad I published recently but could still bring tears to your eyes so if you prefer it slightly milder, less Chilli.

My next feature is going to be a braised Pork Cheek dish I have been working on, Far Eastern influences but the main flavour profile  is Tutts Clump Cider, should be on the blog later this week.

Enjoy,

L8ers…………..