Tomato Egg and Beef on Rice

This dish is a staple in a cantonese family. It literally takes 15 minutes to cook up a whole batch for the family. The only way I can imagine eating this is over hot steamed rice.

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
2 tomatoes, cut into bite size chunks
4 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 lb beef, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup water

Method:
1. In a wok, heat up some canola oil until it is smoking
2. Pour in the eggs and scramble. Just as it comes together, begin to "cut" the eggs with your utensil so that you get small bite size chunks of egg
3. Remove the eggs from the wok
4. In the same wok, add a little more oil. Add in the beef and stir fry until the beef is slightly undercooked.
5. Remove the beef from the wok
6. If there are beef bits in the bottom of your wok, you may want to clean it out before proceeding. If it's not too bad, you can continue on to 7.
7. Add a teaspoon of oil to the hot wok. Add the garlic and tomatoes and stir until the tomato begins to lose its skins.
8. Add in the water, ketchup, and sugar. Mix and taste. If the tomatoes are slightly too sour, add in a little more sugar to balance the flavour.
9. Mix the egg and beef into the wok with the tomato mixture and boil on low for 2-3 minutes, or until the beef and egg heats back through.
10. Season with salt to taste and serve with steamed rice.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients:
4 cups of leftover rice
1 cup kimchi, chopped to 1/2 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon korean chili paste
oil
1 tsp sugar
2 eggs, beaten
salt, to taste

Method:
1. In a large wok, heat canola oil on high until hot. Throw in the chopped kimchi
2. Stir fry for 3 minutes, or until kimchi softens
3. Add in the garlic, sugar and korean chili paste and mix to combine. Be sure not to burn the garlic
4. Add the fried rice in. Press the rice with the back of your mixing spoon to flatten out any lumps. This may take a few minutes.
5. Stir fry until the rice is dark red and softened.
6. Pour the 2 beaten eggs into the rice and stir immediately and toss the wok so that the eggs coat the individual grains of rice.
7. Serve steaming hot
8. Optional: garnish with some shopped green onions

Ribeye Roast

This recipe is so simple because it doesn't require anything except for salt and pepper. All the flavour is already inside the ribeye and you don't want to overcomplicate the recipe with all these spices and herbs. You will need to invest in a probe thermometer because not all ovens are built equal.

Ingredients:
1 6lb Ribeye Roast, boneless
6 tbsp salt, kosher
4 tbsp pepper
4 tbsp melted butter

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Rinse off the ribeye roast and pat dry with paper towels
3. Brush the ribeye all around with the melted butter
4. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper and place into the oven at 450 for 20 minutes.
5. Lower the temperature down to 325 and cook for approximately 1 hr 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the roast is at 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Take out the roast, let rest for 15 minutes before cutting in, untented
7. Slice and serve.
Optional:
8. Place the pan with the drippings over a stove on low. Add 1/2 cup of red wine and scrape off the drippings from the bottom of the pan. Serve in a gravy boat with the ribeye.

Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio (Bo Tai Chanh)

This carpaccio is so simple and yet so fresh and flavourful. Though, I would probably call it a ceviche more than a carpaccio, because the citrus juice slightly cooks the beef, whereas in a carpaccio, we would be searing the outside of the eye of round before slicing it. This would be wonderful on top of a simple green salad or tossed with some watercress. Notice in the pictures above the difference in the colours of the raw beef vs. the marinaded beef.

Ingredients:
1 lb of beef eye of round
5 tbsp chopped cilantro
5 tbsp chopped chives
3 tbsp chopped thai basil
1 shallot, sliced thinly
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 orange, juiced
3 tbsp fish sauce

Method:
1. Place the beef eye of round in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing. This makes achieving thin slices much easier. If your slicing skills aren't quite up to par and you end up with thick slices, you can places the beef slices inbetween two sheets of saran wrap and pound the slices out with a mallet or even the bottom of a saucepan.
2. Marinade the beef slices in the lemon juice, orange juice, and fish sauce for 20 minutes, or until the beef becomes slightly light brown.
3. Drain the citrus and fish sauce from the beef.
4. Add the chopped cilantro, chives, basil, and thinly sliced shallot to the beef and mix.
5. Serve immediately!

Filipino Bistek (Beef with Citrus Soy Sauce)

My ex-boyfriend's mother used to always make this when she got off work late and had to put a meal on the table in a rush. It is so comforting and goes excellent on top of some steamed white jasmine rice.

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef flank steak, sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced (or if available, used kalamansi)
pepper, to taste
1 large onion, sliced

Method:
1. Marinade the beef with the soy sauce, lemon juice, and pepper for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Heat a wok with some oil over high heat.
3. Once the oil begins to smoke, throw in the sliced onions and stir for approximately 30 seconds.
4. Pour the beef with the marinade into the wok and stir to cook for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the beef is cooked and the onions are tender.
5. Serve over steamed white rice.

Update

Sorry I've been too busy to update lately, as I've been too busy with school to cook! I've put up 3 new recipes today and I intend to put up many more within the next 2 months with lots of pictures.

Check back soon for new recipes!

Rosemary Maggi Steak

This is a recipe that my dad used to make for us all the time. I've cooked it for a number of people who have all asked me for the recipe. Well, here it is! I understand that a lot of people disagree with marinading/salting steaks prior to cooking. Personally, I think it's a tradeoff. If you salt during/after cooking, your steaks will be juicier, but have less flavour. If you salt before cooking, your steak might be slightly less juicy, but the flavours really permeate the steak. I believe in salting as you go. Salt brings out a lot of natural flavours in food that you just can't achieve with salting at the end.

Maggi sauce is a Swiss ingredient that resembles a strong soy sauce in taste without actually containing soy. It is quite a popular condiment in Asia.

Ingredients:
2 New York striploins
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic
1 teaspoon of seasoning salt
1.5 teaspoon of fresh rosemary (or dried, up to you)
3 teaspoons of Maggi sauce

Method:
1. Marinade the steaks on both sides with all of the listed ingredients above.
2. Allow the meat to marinade for 30 minutes.
3. Pan sear the steaks (always on high) to your liking. I personally think that steak tastes best at medium-rare.

Wild Salmon Spaghetti Mornay

This spaghetti is absolutely AMAZING. It's got a creamy sauce scented with lemon and garlic.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti, cooked according to package directions minus 1 minute (al dente)
Cream, enough to coat spaghetti
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Lemon, zest and juice
Garlic, minced
Wild salmon

Method:
1. Sear the salmon on both sides until barely cooked.
2. Meanwhile, saute the minced garlic in a small amount of olive oil.
3. Once the garlic just begins to brown, pour the cream into the pan.
4. Add the parmesan cheese and stir it in to make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of your pan.
5. Add the lemon juice and zest.
6. At this point, taste the sauce to see how much seasoning or adjustments it needs. If it's too sour, add a little more cream. If it doesn't have enough "zing", add a little more lemon juice or zest. Salt and pepper as needed. It makes sense for the sauce to be a little bit on the salty side, as it will be coating the spaghetti.
7. Mix the sauce with the cooked pasta and add the cooked salmon.
8. I like to break up the salmon with my tongs a little bit into the pasta.
9. Plate and top with a little extra parmesan and perhaps some parsley for garnish.

Chicken & Ginger Congee

This has got to be the most comforting congee when you're feeling sick or down in the dumps on a rainy day. It's simple, healthy, and delicious. Because I start this congee with cooked rice (usually leftover rice from the night before), it is prepared a lot quicker than your usual congee.

Ingredients:
4 cups of cooked rice
8 cups of water
3 - 4 chicken carcasses (available at local supermarkets or asian markets)
1/2 cup of ginger, julienned as thin as possible
2 chicken breasts, sliced to bite-size
salt, to taste

Method:
1. Begin with a large pot filled with the water. Add the cooked rice, chicken carcasses and half of the sliced ginger.
2. Boil until the rice breaks down (approximately 1.5 - 2 hours) and begins to form a porridge/watery oatmeal-like consistensy.
3. Add the sliced chicken breast.
4. Just before serving, stir in the remainder of the julienned ginger. The reason for this is that the first half of the ginger tends to lose its flavour, pungency as it is boiled for quite a while. The fresh ginger adds a kick to the congee.
5. Season with salt as necessary and serve hot.

Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Hue Beef Noodle Soup)

** In this picture, I also made pork meatballs to add into the soup. I will post the recipe soon.

This is by no means a quick recipe. Though it is not difficult to make, it will take hours to boil the stock to a rich meaty soup. Well worth it, in my opinion.



Ingredients for the soup:
6 lbs of pork and beef bones (I used half beef bones with the marrow and half pork neck bones)
7-8 stalks of lemon grass, smashed (cut off the dry tops and peel off any dry leaves)
1 large piece of ginger, smashed
1 onion, whole
2 tbsp mam ruoc (vietnamese fish paste)
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup of fish sauce, or to taste
2 lbs pigs feet
1.5 lbs of sliced beef
1 beef shank
1 cha lua loaf (vietnamese ham)
1 lb congealed pork blood, 1.5 inch cubes

Ingredients for oil:
1 tbsp annato seeds
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp mam ruoc
2-3 lemongrass stalks, finely chopped (food processor)
3 tbsp nuoc cham (vietnamese chili garlic sauce) [edit: I made this again with chili powder instead of the paste (approximately 1 tablespoon) and I actually liked the chili powder more because it doesn't change the flavour of the soup as much]

Ingredients for serving:
Bun bo hue vermicelli (It's thicker than regular vermicelli and round, unlike pho)
Basil
Lime
Red Chilies
Beansprouts
Purple Purilla, sliced
Cilantro

Method:
1. Place the pork and beef bones along with the beef shank in the largest stock pot you can find, cover with water and bring to a boil. When the scum begins forming at the top, pour out the water and rinse the bones with water to remove the scum and some of the fat.
2. Place the bones and shank back into the stock pot and cover with water once again. Add the smashed lemongrass, onion, ginger, garlic, mam ruoc and boil for 4 hours on medium-low with a tight fitting lid.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil for the annato seed oil in a pan. Place about a tbsp of annato seeds into the oil. When the oil turns dark red, remove the annato seeds either with a spoon or by straining the oil. Put the oil back on the heat and add the minced lemongrass, mam ruoc, and chili garlic paste (or chili powder works just as well). Once the lemongrass has softened a bit, you can take the pan off the heat. At this point, you may want to skim the fat off of the top of the bun bo hue. You'll find that quite a bit has accumulated from the bones. Once you have skimmed off the fat, you can pour the annato seed oil mixture into the soup to turn it a bright red.


4. Boil the bun bo hue noodles in water according to the instructions on your packet.
5. When the soup stock is almost finished, season with the fish sauce (or according to your own taste) Add the pig's feet and pigs blood
6. When the skin of the pig's feet is soft, but still chewy, add the cha lua slices and remove the beef shank from the stock to slice.
7. Put a handful of noodles in the bottom of a large bowl and add the beef slices to the top of the noodles. Pour the boiling soup over the noodles and be sure to include some pig's feet and blood.
8. Serve with the bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, lime, red chili, and purple purilla.

Fresh Basil Pesto Spaghetti

This recipe is fool proof and can be altered to your tastes. It is delicious with salmon or chicken added to it as well.

Ingredients:

1 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/4 cup cream
Handful of dried spaghetti


Method:

1. Boil pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente.


2. Toast the pine nuts in a sautee pan for about 2 minutes, tossing to make sure that they don't burn.

3. In a blender, blend the pine nuts, basil leaves, grated parmesan, olive oil and the clove of garlic until a smooth paste. If it's not blending smoothly, then drizzle in some more olive oil until the mixture comes together.

4. In a saute pan, heat the cream and add the al dente pasta. Put about 4 tablespoons of the pesto (or desired amount) and mix until the cheese in the pesto begins to melt and thickens the cream sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.



5. Serve immediately.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This soup ended up being quite rich. It's best served in small portions. It really isn't a low calorie kind of soup.

Ingredients:
3 lbs broccoli, in small pieces, stems cut into bite size pieces and separated from florets
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1.5 cups heavy cream
1 carrot, diced
4 pints chicken stock (or milk works too)
2 small russet potatoes, peeled and chopped in small pieces
3-4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Method:
1. In a large stock pot, melt the butter and whisk the flour into it.
2. After about 1 minute of cooking the butter and flour through, add the cream slowly, whisking to reduce lumps.
3. Add the chicken stock or milk and add the broccoli stems, diced carrots and the cubed potatoes.
4. Cook until the broccoli stems and potatoes are soft. Try to crush the potatoes with the back of a ladle of a potato masher. This gives the soup a thicker consistency.
5. Add the cheddar cheese and broccoli florets and cook for 1 more minute, until the florets are soft and the cheddar is melted.
6. Serve with some crispy bread or just by itself

The Freshest Salsa Ever

I used to dislike salsa because I had always had the kind that was out of a jar. It had no "zing" and it was mushy without much taste to it. My mexican friend showed me how he made his salsa.

Ingredients:

4 large sized tomatoes, diced with seeds and watery parts removed
2 limes, zested and juiced
8 grinds of black pepper
1 tbsp salt
1.5 sticks of celery, diced
1.5 green pepper, diced
6 dashes Tobasco (or to desired spiciness)
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 onion, diced

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large jar and give it a good shake. Test for flavours, but make note that the flavours will absorb into the salsa more if you give it 10 minutes marinading time.

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup Yogurt

6 tbsp tandoori masala

10 drops of red food colouring

15 pieces of chicken upper legs and lower legs

1 lemon

salt and pepper

Methods:

1. Peel the skin off of the chicken and make several deep cuts into the meat (to the bone) so that the marinade can penetrate the meat more easily

2. Marinade the chicken with lemon juice (tenderizer) and salt

3. Mix the yogurt, tandoori masala and red food colouring with salt and pepper. You can adjust hte red food colouring to your liking. I notice that the chicken gets darker red as it cooks. This is the colour of my chicken before I cooked it.

4. Marinade the chicken in the fridge for at least 5 hours or overnight is best.

5. Before cooking, take the chicken out of the fridge for 1 hour so that the chicken can come to room temperature

6. Grill over a charcoal barbecue or put it in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until just cooked.

Oyster Motoyaki

This has got to be the easiest recipe ever! It's great for when you have guests over because it looks so complicated, but it only really takes 5 minutes of preparation!

Ingredients:

4 fresh large oysters

2 tablespoons of dark miso paste

1/2 cup japanese mayonnaise (I use Kewpie brand, see above)

3 tbsp chopped green onion
1 tablespoon of sugar

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to the broil setting

2. Shuck the oysters. Remove the top (the flat side) and loosen the oyster from its shell. If you're having trouble with this, it helps to throw the oysters in the oven for 5 minutes so the shells open up a little first.

3. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.

4. Top the oysters with the mayonnaise mixture. Salt is not necessary because the mayo already has salt in it.

5. Put the oysters in the oven on a rack that is a little higher than the middle of the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until the top of the mayonnaise is golden brown.

6. Serve immediately, because cold oysters will taste fishy and unfresh.

Herb Roasted Chicken with Bread Stuffing

Serves 6-8 people
I've also tried a version of this recipe in which I put herbed butter under the skin of the chicken. It was even better! For the herbed butter, I just mixed up a stick of butter with the chopped poultry herbs

Ingredients:
2 whole chickens, giblets removed and wings tucked under
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 loaf of crusty french bread, in crouton size pieces
1 lemon
2 carrots, in big pieces
2 zucchinis, in big pieces
1 pound of baby potatoes, cut in half
1 onion, diced
1 bag of poultry herbs, chopped (available at Superstore. I believe it has rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley) or dry herbs
2 tablespoons of dried rosemary
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:
1. After cleaning the chicken, season very liberally with salt, pepper, and the poultry herbs. (Make sure to get the inside cavity too.)
2. While the chicken is marinading, heat a saute pan with a little bit of oil and add the garlic, onion, bell peppers and the french bread. Season well with salt and pepper and a little bit of thyme, if desired. Squeeze some lemon juice over the mixture and let cool before stuffing the chicken.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
4. Toss the carrots and potatoes with the olive oil, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Place them in the bottom of a roasting pan.
5. Stuff the chicken with the bell pepper mixture and tie the thighs together for even cooking and to keep the stuffing from falling out.
6. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan.
7. Bake for approximately 2 hours. You will know that it's cooked when the juices run clear (not bloody) and when the thickest part of the meat (the thigh) is cooked.
8. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, throw in the zucchini (and make sure to toss it in the oils/juices at the bottom of the pan, otherwise they'll dry out..

Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)

This recipe uses authentic banh trang wrappers. You can feel welcome to use the chinese spring roll wrappers, but I think these spring rolls taste much better with the banh trang.

Ingredients:

1 package of Banh Trang wrappers (see photo above)

2 pounds of lean ground pork

1/2 pound of shrimp, minced

1 cup of carrot, grated

4 cloves of garlic, minced

10 wood ear fungus, rehydrated and sliced

1 cake of mung bean noodles, soaked in warm water

2 egg whites

5 tablespoons of fish sauce

6 shallots, minced

1 tsp of sugar

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of canola oil

Canola oil, for frying

Method:

1. Mix together the pork, wood ear fungus, mung bean noodles, garlic, carrot and shrimp in a large bowl

2. Season the mixture with the fish sauce, sugar, and desired amount of salt and lots of pepper.

3. Mix in the egg whites (this is our binding agent) and mung bean noodles.

4. In a shallow fry pan, heat about 2 centimetres of water until it is steaming, but not boiling.

5. Soak a sheet of the banh trang in the hot water until it soft. It should take about 5-10 seconds, depending on how hot the water is.

6. Place the softened sheet of banh trang carefully on a cutting board or plate, careful not to tear it.

7. Place about 3-4 tablespoons of the cha gio filling on one side of the wrapper and wrap them as tightly as possible while folding in the sides, to create the spring roll shape. Important: Don't overfill the spring rolls and make sure that your rolls are even. This allows for quick and even cooking. Repeat until you have made all your spring rolls.

8. Allow the spring rolls to sit for 10 minutes before frying. I made the mistake of not letting it rest before frying and the oil was popping like crazy!

9. In a large stock pot or deep fryer, if you have one, heat the oil to 375 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

10. Place the spring rolls into the oil and fry them until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.

11. Drain the spring rolls on a paper towel and cut into bite size pieces.

12. Serve with the nuoc mam cham dipping sauce immediately. If you let them sit too long, the wrappers will become chewy.

Nuoc Mam Cham Dipping Sauce

This sauce should be served as a dipping sauce for the spring rolls. I like to make a big batch and keep it in my fridge in a jar so I can just boil some vermicelli and mix it with my nuoc mam when I'm hungry for a quick snack!

Ingredients:

2 red chilies, sliced or chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lemon, juiced

4 tablespoons of fish sauce
4 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 can of coconut juice

Method:

1. Heat the coconut juice in a saucepan and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve.
2. Turn the heat off, add fish sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic, and chopped chilies.

Grilled Miso Black Cod

This recipe is delicious and fool proof because it is almost impossible to overcook black cod. I use a dark miso paste because it has a stronger flavour than that of the lighter colours.

Ingredients:
2 fillets of black cod, skin on.
1 cup of japanese soy sauce (I just use Kikkoman)
1 cup of dark miso paste
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
5 tablespoons of brown sugar
Mesquite wood chips

Method:
1. In a large freezer bag, mix the soy sauce, miso paste, onions, garlic, and brown sugar.
2. Marinade in the fridge for 1 - 2 hours.
3. Place 1 part soaked mesquite wood chips on a piece of tin foil and 2 parts of dry mesquite wood chips. Fold up the tin foil and seal the sides to create a little packet of woodchips. Prick the top of the package (violently!) with a fork so that smoke can escape.
4. Heat one barbecue grill to high and leave the other side off. Place the woodchip packet under the grill on the side that is on and close the barbecue so that the heat can start the smoking process.
5. Place the black cod fillets on a piece of flat tin foil and place it on the grill. The reason for the tin foil is so that the black cod does not fall apart into the grill.
6. Close the lid and smoke for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the black cod is flaky.
7. Remove from the grill and serve immediately!

Authentic Buffalo Chicken Wings

This would be the perfect food to go with beer. It's pretty spicy, so you'll need something cold to wash it down. In order for them to be authentic, they must be served with the celery and blue cheese dip!

Ingredients:
42 chicken wings and drumettes
8 tablespoons of butter
8 tablespoons of Louisiana Hot Sauce (I go with Frank's Hot Sauce)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
2 tablespoons salt
1/4 teaspoon of garlic salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
Oil, for frying

Method:
1. Season the chicken wings with the salt and coat in flour.
2. Fry for about 7-8 minutes, or until cooked and crispy.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and mix in all remaining ingredients.
4. Remove the chicken wings from the oil and drain on a paper towel.
5. Toss the chicken wings into a large bowl and coat with the hot sauce mixture. Don't drown them. Put just enough of the hot sauce to evenly coat the wings.
6. Serve with a crudite of carrots and celery with a blue cheese dip, if desired.

Sinigang Nan Baka

This is a Filipino tamarind beef stew/soup. It is absolutely delicious served steaming hot over a bed of white rice. I cheat a little and use packaged sinigang mix, but it is a MUST TRY! The soup has a hearty meatiness that you may find resembles that of pho.







Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of fatty beef short ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces (1 bone per piece)
2 tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1 package of Knorr Sinigang na Sampalok mix (available at local asian groceries or Superstore)
4 large dashes of fish sauce
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced into rounds
1 onion, sliced
Approximately 2-3 litres of water
1 pound of broccoli florets
1 pound of green beans, ends removed
6 leaves of romaine lettuce, cut in half.

Method:
1. Boil the beef short-ribs in the water for about 1.5 hours with sliced onions. You may want to skim some of the fat off the top when the beef starts rendering its oils out.
2. Once the beef is tender and falling off the bone, add the sinigang mix, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes and fish sauce (to desired taste). Add green beans into the soup.
3. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
4. Add romaine lettuce and broccoli, simmer for 2 more minutes.
5. Serve with white rice.


This is what the sinigang looked like right before I added the beans and broccoli

Three Cup Chicken

This is a traditional taiwanese chicken dish in which thai basil and sesame oil are the main stars.



Ingredients:
2-3 pounds of chicken thigh meat, cut into bite size pieces, bone-in
1/4 cup of sesame oil, reserve 2 tablespoons for finishing
10 - 15 thin slices of ginger
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of thai basil, whole leaves
3/4 cup cup of light soy sauce
1/4 cup of dark soy sauce
3-4 red chili peppers, whole
1 tbsp sugar (or to taste)

Method:

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok until it is smoking.
2. Place the ginger, garlic, chili peppers and chicken in the wok until the chicken skin has been browned slightly.
3. Pour in light soy sauce and dark soy sauce and thai basil leaves and simmer until the soy sauce has reduced by about 1/4 and is thick and rich. (About 5-10 minutes)
4. Taste the sauce. If you find it to be too salty, add some sugar to balance out the saltiness. The sugar will also give the chicken a slight stickiness.
5. Plate and drizzle with the remaining sesame oil before serving with some steamed rice. Enjoy!

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken Wings/Thighs

This is a simple Vietnamese recipe that must be prepared at least one day ahead of time for the lemongrass flavours to fully penetrate the chicken wings (for best results, 2 days). When finished, the wings come out sticky and crunchy, due to the brown sugar and fish sauce in the marinade. I would recommend a Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce for this recipe.

Ingredients:
3 lbs of chicken wings or thighs
3 large stalks of lemongrass, minced
1/4 cup of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of ginger, grated
1/3 cup of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2-3 limes, zested and juiced

Method:
1. In a large bag, combine all of the ingredients and marinade the chicken wings for 24 hours.
2. Grill on the barbecue or bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, turning once, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.