There are many variations of this chicken dish served in Vietnam, most commonly found grilled on bamboo skewers at roadside stalls. I prefer to cook mine as whole breasts; it stays moist and looks stunning sliced up. If you marinade the chicken overnight, it really gives it another depth of
flavour. This marinade also works really well with pork.
If you don’t want yellow fingers, use gloves when rubbing in the marinade.
Ingredients
| 4 | Kaffir lime leaves |
| 2 Tbsp | Lemongrass |
| 1 tsp | Garlic, finely grated |
| 1 Tbsp | Shallots, finely diced |
| 1 tsp | Five spice |
| 2 tsp | Turmeric |
| 1 tsp | Dried chilli flakes |
| 1 Tbsp | Fish sauce, (look for 'made in Vietnam' on the bottle) |
| 1 Tbsp | Sesame oil |
| 1 tsp | Flaky sea salt |
| 4 | Chicken breasts, small size, approx 150g each (Main) |
Directions
- Chop the kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass until very fine. Add the garlic, shallots, spices, fish sauce, sesame oil and salt.
- Add the chicken breasts and rub the marinade all over the chicken. Cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours.
- Barbecue or cook under the grill for 5-7 minutes on each side. Rest for 3 three minutes before slicing.
- Serve with steamed long grain rice and mango papaya salad.
Steamed rice
To steam rice, rinse 1½ cups of rice in warm water three times, cover with 2½ cups of water, add 1 tsp of sea salt, bring to the boil, cover with a lid and turn down to a low heat. Cook for 12 minutes then take off the lid, turn the heat up and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp of sesame oil and fluff up lightly with a fork.
