Hey it’s me, but this will be brief I think because my window of me-time is screeching to a close.  But I want to share this deliciousness with you because a) one of my New Years resolutions (I’ve been ignoring) was to update my blog more often and b) this recipe makes me happy. Plus, it’s easy, and your family will love you and will most likely eat all the leftovers without saving you any, CHARLIE.

Speaking of family, this one came to me in the way of my sweet sister-in-law who does things like give me hand-written laminated cookbooks along with her very own homemade cajun spice mix for Christmas, because she clearly knows me well, and also shares my irrational love of food.

This Vietnamese chicken can be made a couple of different ways using the same marinade and sauce. Use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs and slice it up and put it in a taco with a little red cabbage. Or put it on a pizza along with some fresh bean sprouts and maybe a little hoisin sauce instead of tomato sauce as your base. My favourite way to make it is to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs so the meat stays super juicy, and then serve it over brown rice with some edamame thrown in, mostly because the rice soaks up all the sauce and the addition of veggies makes me feel like I’m adulting.

Vietnamese Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:

Chicken:

1 lb or around 6 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp gochujang, or chili paste

the juice and zest of 2 limes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Rice:

3/4 cup brown rice

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup frozen edamame (or green peas)

1 tbsp sesame oil

salt

Garnish: 

1 mango, sliced,

1 avocado, diced

Directions:

Marinate the chicken. In a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, chili paste, garlic, ginger, olive oil, lime juice and zest, and half the cilantro (reserving the rest for garnish). Reserve half the marinade in a small sauce pot. Coat the chicken in the rest of the marinade and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a baking dish with foil and grease it with non stick spray (we use a coconut oil spray), or a little olive oil to prevent sticking. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and bake for for 35 minutes. (If you’re using boneless thighs or breasts, cut the cooking time down to 25 minutes.)

While the chicken is baking, make the rice. Toast the rice with the sesame oil in a pot over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes until it smells nice and nutty. Add the water and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat to simmer until the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked. In the last couple of minutes, throw the edamame or frozen peas into the rice, give it a good stir, and pop the lid back on the pot. The hot rice and residual steam will cook the veg.

Bring the remaining marinade to a boil and then simmer for about ten minutes until it gets thick and syrupy.

To serve, spoon some rice onto a plate and top with the chicken. Drizzle with the sauce. Top with sliced mango and avocado, sprinkle with the remaining cilantro, and serve.

Serves 4. I would make more if you want leftovers and live with a bunch of wild animals.

xoJBR