Next stop - Vietnam

Tonight I was ready for a light meal.  I knew we were doing the Lemon Chicken tonight.  I had the chicken marinating last night and the nuoc cham made, all I had to do tonight was prep the salad and cook the chicken.  The chicken was gorgeous!  It was definitely high ranking in my favorites.  There was such a play of flavors with the chicken, the lemon, and garlic with the sugar, the cilantro, lettuce and green onion, the spice and heat of the dipping sauce and the cleansing of the cucumber.  YUM!!  All of it practically danced in your mouth.  The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the pea shoots.  They tasted like grass to me.  Maybe if they were blanched or something but in their straight out of the garden taste, they were not that nice for me.  I’ll admit - I’m picky when it comes to stuff like sprouts or shoots.  I really don’t like most of them because they taste of grass (at least raw).  So next salad, those will definitely be omitted.  The chicken recipe came from the 15 Minute low Carb Recipe book I have.  They only marinate for a few minutes, but I just can’t do that.  I love the intensity of the flavor (not to mention the tenderness) of meat that marinates for hours, even days.  But if you don’t mind that, feel free to marinate on the spot.  The salad recipe I found online somewhere (lost the bookmark to it unfortunately.)  I made some variations.  I diced the chicken up as it was better over the salad that way.  Plus I added several dashes of red pepper to the nuoc cham.  I wanted it to be spicy and have some bite to it.  Feel free to leave that out if it’s too hot or too spicy.

Vietnamese Lemon Chicken

1 1/2 lbs (750g) boneless skinless chicken (your choice of white or dark - I used breasts as they were on sale)

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice (I just used the juice of a whole lemon and the zest)

2 tsp garlic

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Slenda (or sugar if you prefer the carbed up version)

2 tsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)  (i’ll admit - I used more)


1/2 tsp pepper

Oil

Nuoc Cham (see below)

If time permits, combine the everything save the oil and the nuoc cham and let marinate overnight.  Also, if you can, make the nuoc cham the night before just to get the flavors blended together.  If you are pressed for time, pound each piece of chicken until it is 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick.  Put them on a plate.

Mix together the lemon, garlic, splenda, fish sauce and pepper aand pour the mixture evenly over the chicken.  Turn the chicken so that all sides are coated.  Heat 1 or 2 Tbsp oil in a heavy skillet and add the chicken.  Saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, or until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, toss together the nuoc cham - see below, but this takes no time at all to put together.

In the last minute or so of cooking, pour the lemon juice mixture remaining on the plate into the skillet, turning the chicken once again to make sure it’s all coated.  After a minute or so, remove from heat.  Serve with a little pool or a bowl of the nuoc cham to dip the chicken in.

Nuoc Cham (Spicy dipping sauce)

2 Tbsp fish sauce (I was a bit liberal with this)


2 Tbsp lime juice (I just used a whole lime)

1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar and again, I was a bit generous with the pour)

3 Tbsp Splenda

1/2 tsp minced garlic or 1 clove, crushed

1 tsp chili garlic paste

several dashes red pepper (optional)

Simply mix everything in a small dish.

Vietnamese Green Salad

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon white vinegar or white rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)

¼ teaspoon superfine (caster) sugar (I used Splenda for this)

4 cups oak leaf lettuce leaves—washed, dried and roughly torn (I ended up using escarole, as it’s what they had at the store)

1 oz (30g) snow pea sprouts

1 scallion—thinly sliced on the diagonal

15 thinly sliced rounds of cucumber—cut in half


2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves (I was generous with this and I’m glad I was.  It’s a great flavor enhancer in this)

MIX together the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar in a bowl until well combined (or shake together in a screw-top jar). PLACE all remaining ingredients, except the dressing, in a salad bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving.