The Vietnamese Grill Recipes

VIETNAMESE GRILLED LEMONGRASS CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix canola oil, lemongrass, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and fish sauce together in a mixing bowl until the sugar is dissolved; add chicken and turn to coat in the marinade.
• Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat grill for medium heat and lightly oil the grate.
• Remove chicken thighs from the marinade and shake to remove excess marinade. Discard the remaining marinade.
• Grill chicken until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 3 to 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK AND RICE VERMICELLI NOODLE BOWL

Steps:

• For the dipping sauce: Combine all the sauce ingredients and stir to dissolve the sugar completely. Set aside.
• For the pork: Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender; puree about 20 seconds until smooth. Place the pork in a medium bowl, pour the marinade over the meat and massage the pork well. Marinate for at least 1 hour if time allows. Heat a grill pan, medium skillet or griddle to high and add the oil. When you see white wisps of smoke, saute the pork for about 5 minutes until cooked through.
• For the noodles: Soak the rice sticks in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain, then boil the soaked rice sticks in 3 quarts (2.8 liters) of water in a 4-quart (3.8-liter) pot for about 12 minutes until al dente. Rinse them well under cold water in a fine mesh strainer and reserve.
• Assembly: Divide the noodles into 4 separate bowls. Place the pork on top of the noodles. Sprinkle the pork with radish, carrot, roasted peanuts and scallions. Pour Nuoc Cham Sauce over the noodles and mix them well like a salad.

GRILLED VIETNAMESE CHICKEN

Steps:

• PREPARE CHICKEN: Trim larger pieces of fat from chicken (don't worry about smaller ones - they'll burn off). Pound chicken to even thickness for even cooking. I use the bottom of a pot or heal of my hand.
• MARINATE CHICKEN: Place all marinade ingredients in a ziploc bag or sealed container. Mix or squish bag to combine well. Add chicken, Seal bag/container and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in fridge.
• HEAT GRILL to medium-high. Oil grill with paper towel or spray.
• GRILL CHICKEN AND SERVE: Remove chicken from marinade (reserve marinade for sauce if desired Note 2). If using low salt soy sauce, lightly sprinkle chicken with salt. Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness of chicken. Instant thermometer should read 160F. Add green onions for last 2-3 minutes if using. Transfer chicken to plate. Cover loosely with foil and let rest 5 minutes. Garnish with green onions and chopped fresh cilantro if desired. Note 3 to bake.

VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK

Steps:

• Combine the sugar with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir a few times and allow to simmer until the sauce turns deep brown, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, have some extra hot water ready on a back burner. Once the sauce reaches the desired color, carefully add 4 to 5 tbsp hot water to slow the cooking and thin the sauce. (Be sure to hold the pan away from you so that none of the hot caramel splatters on you when you add the water). If necessary, add more hot water. The sauce should only be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool.
• Pound the shallots in a mortar and pestle or mince by hand. Transfer the shallots to a mixing bowl and combine with the fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, vegetable oil, and cooled caramel marinade. Stir well to blend.
• Add the pork slices and let marinate for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a broiler or light a charcoal or gas grill. When the broiler or fire is very hot, cook the pork until just done, about 2 minutes on each side. Let the pork rest for 10 to 15 minutes, and cut into thin strips.

THE VIETNAMESE GRILL

Steps:

• I have a theory about the best way to eat during the sweltering dog days of summer. I take my cue from sun-belt lands that have scorching climates all year long. Hot climates generally produce cooking styles well suited to warm weather eating. And nowhere is this more true than Vietnam.I visited Saigon hot on the barbecue trail, and didn't have far to go to strike paydirt. My hotel, the New World, was located across the street from Saigon's Ben Thanh Central Market. And as at markets throughout Southeast Asia, Ben Thanh was teeming with grill jockeys.A favorite stop was a stall where a woman grilled chicken wings that had been marinating in a fragrant paste of lemongrass, garlic, and fish sauce. Another vendor proffered an egg that had been "hard-boiled" (roasted) over a coconut shell charcoal fire. I wrapped it with a sprig of mint in a lettuce leaf and dipped it in nuoc cham, Vietnam's delicate table sauce-a piquant mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. The combination was stellar.Grilling is ubiquitous in Vietnam, first because it produces such flavorful food, and second because it's so cheap to prepare. As in Thailand and Indonesia, coconut is a major crop here and the tree's by-product-coconut husks-makes excellent charcoal.But grilling isn't only for the poor, a fact brought home to me where I stopped next-a tiny restaurant called Vietnam House. Located on the second floor of a fashionable townhouse on Dong Khoi Street, Vietnam House seems to exist chiefly for the pleasure of deep-pocketed foreigners. This has both advantages and drawbacks: You get to dine among lacquered screens and gilded wood carvings, serenaded by live, twangy Vietnamese classical music and served by waitresses in ao dai (slit dresses). On the down side, you feel a little like you're in Epcot.I wouldn't say Vietnam House specializes in grilled fare, but two items here rank as world-class barbecue. The first is chao tom, an ingenious combination of shrimp mousse that is grilled on a piece of sugarcane. You don't really eat the cane, so much as chew it to release the sweet juices.The other dish is bo goi la-lot, beef grilled in la-lot leaves and served on tiny skewers. La-lot is the piquant leaf of a Southeast Asian vine that reminds me a little of basil. The beef fairly sizzled, its fat counterbalanced by the herbal tang of the leaf.A counterpointing of grilled meats with vegetables, specifically with lettuce and aromatic herbs, and noodles is one of the hallmarks of Vietnamese cuisine.A Meal OutdoorsNo dish represents the Vietnamese penchant for enriching small portions of grilled meats with a large proportion of noodles and vegetables than banh hoi thit (grilled pork with rice noodles) and its sister dish bo bun (grilled beef with rice paper). And no one makes them better than the restaurant Thanh Nien.I enjoyed my grilled pork in the restaurant's airy courtyard. To my left, stood a grove of bamboo to my right, a thatch-roofed portico. Oscillating fans stirred the torrid air. The tables around me were filled with fledgling capitalists chattering on cellular phones.As I sipped an icy "33" Export beer, the waitress set before me three plates. The first contained neatly coiled, snowy rice noodles. The second held the actual pork, which had been thinly sliced, marinated in a fragrant mixture of lemongrass, shallots, and vodka, and smokily charred on the grill. The cooked slices were then dusted with an aromatic sprinkling of chopped scallions and toasted peanuts, the former for pungency, the latter for sweetness and crunch.The final element was a salad platter that turns up on all Vietnamese tables. The refreshing assortment included lettuce and basil leaves, sliced cucumbers, mung bean sprouts, and crisp, pointed slices of star fruit. To eat the dish, you wrap a coil of noodles and a slice of pork in a lettuce leaf, with basil for fragrance and slices of cucumber and star fruit for crispness.The result is a morsel perfect for summer, being simultaneously hot and cold crisp, soft, and chewy sweet, salty, lemony, and aromatic. I can't think of a dish in the West that comes close to achieving such a complex interplay of temperatures, textures, and tastes. And it's fun to eat.Search for the word "Vietnamese" to find the many Vietnamese recipes in this book.

VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK SKEWERS

Steps:

• Combine pork belly, 1 red chile pepper, lemongrass, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon MSG, 1 teaspoon white sugar, and five-spice powder in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until marinated, 1 to 3 hours.
• Mix 1/4 cup fish sauce, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 red chile pepper, lime juice, 5 cloves garlic, and 1 teaspoon MSG together in a bowl. Let sit until dipping sauce flavors meld, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Pour in water.
• Thread the marinated pork belly onto bamboo skewers.
• Preheat grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate. Cook pork skewers, turning occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce.

VIETNAMESE GRILLED PORK

Steps:

• To make the caramel - combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir a few times and allow to simmer until the sauce turns deep brown, about 15 minute Meanwhile, have some extra hot water ready on a back burner.
• Once the sauce reaches the desired color, carefully add 4 to 5 Tbs. hot water to slow the cooking and thin the sauce. (Be sure to hold the pan away from you so that none of the hot caramel splatters on you when you add the water.) If necessary, add more hot water. The sauce should only be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Set aside to cool.
• To make the pork - pound the shallots in a mortar and pestle or mince by hand.
• Transfer the shallots to a mixing bowl and combine with the fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, vegetable oil, and cooled caramel sauce. Stir well to blend.
• Add the pork slices and let marinate for 20 minute.
• Meanwhile, heat a broiler or light a charcoal or gas grill. When the broiler or fire is very hot, cook the pork until just done, about 2 minute on each side.
• Let the pork rest for 10 to 15 min., cut into thin strips, and serve with noodles.