Spice Up Your winter With a Taste of Hot Vietnamese Chilli Chicken

Today I’m going to give you a great recipe for my collection of Southeast Asian food.  It’s hot and spicy and here’s the photo of what you can expect if you carry on reading below. The dish is called Vietnamese chili chicken and it has this awesome flavor enhanced by peanut butter.

The Indian influence on Southeast Asian cuisine

Southeast Asian food shares many similarities with Indian flavors. That’s an obvious fact because Southeast Asian cuisine relies heavily on various spices used also in Indian curries. The only difference between these two historic regions is that there is tanginess to Southeast Asian food due to the use of elements like lemongrass and fish sauce. There is a valid reason for such a fact. Hinduism was a significant influence in ancient Southeast Asia. The largest religious structure in the world, Angkor Vat was at one time a seat of Hindu religion and culture when it was ultimately turned into a Buddhist temple in the late 12th century.

Angkor Vat (img src.Cambodia.org)

In fact, Hinduism was the predominant religion during the Khmer Empire in the 12^th century. Angkor Vat was built by Khmer King Suryavarman II and dedicated it to Vishnu, a diversion from common Shaivite traditions of the day. Anyways coming back to food, such cultural and religious influences ultimately filtered down to food and that is why several common ingredients form the base of flavors in both cuisines.

Vietnamese Chili Chicken

From my experience in researching for the best possible recipe on Vietnamese Chilli Chicken, I found that recipes differ from region to region. Several chefs too have their own versions and as such I could never zero in on one particular recipe which is why I decided to combine certain elements to get one fantastic dish. I consider myself more of a recipe designer rather than a cook and it is this recipe which became a hit among customers of a restaurant which I once managed in Kolkata. This recipe I’m sharing with you. 

The recipe is an enhanced version of what is known as Ga Sao Sa Ot or lemongrass chili chicken. You can rest assured you’re going to love the awesome pungent and spicy flavor of this item that incorporates peanut butter which surprisingly is also a very traditional and common element in Southeast Asian food. Ok so let’s not bore you with my blabbering here’s the recipe.

Recipe for 250 grams chicken

Boneless chicken leg portion cut into chunks

Chicken stock

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tblsp red chili paste

1 tblsp peanut butter

Sliced red chilies (not dry chilies)

Sliced red capsicum

1 small stalk Lemon grass

100 ml coconut milk

Curry leaves

Method

Mix chicken pieces with a bit of flour.  Heat oil in a wok or a nonstick kadhai; add the ginger garlic paste and red chili paste. Stir, add chicken and stir fry on semi-high flame for 1 minute, lower flame and add lemongrass and curry leaves, red capsicum, and sliced red chilies. Add chicken stock allow the chicken to simmer and cook. When almost cooked, add peanut butter and coconut milk, increase flame and reduce the gravy to a thick consistency, (Add a bit of liquidized cornflour to thicken gravy). Serve garnished with coconut powder and a bit of coriander.

Now you need to remember certain things that enhance the flavor of food. For one the stock is important. I never use cubes. I always make my stock from freshly cut chicken bones and you could even make a great soup from whatever remains. It would be ideal to make such a dish in a nonstick pot or kadhai. It doesn’t require very high heat as in wok cooking neither will it take very long. You’ll know it’s cooked when the chicken pieces are tender. So that’s Vietnamese Chili Chicken for you. If you want to make it even spicier add more chilies.

If you want a nice starter to your meal then try this. It isn’t mine but I found it in an old cookbook and it tasted lovely.

Minced King fish (Surmai), chopped beans, chopped black mushroom, red curry paste, fish sauce, cornflour, egg. You can use bekti if you want.

Mix ingredients in mixer and make a paste. Shape as in the picture. Fit a long stalk of spring onion into the cakes. Then deep fry. Serve with spicy peanut sauce. (Peanut butter, ginger garlic paste, red chilli paste, sugar, salt, a dash of vinegar or fish sauce, a dash of soya sauce, hoisin sauce optional and a dash of lemon. cook for one minute with a bit of water) You could also make spicy peanut sauce using a paste made from raw unsalted peanuts.