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You are here: Home / FOOD / Vietnamese grilled chicken & rice bowl

July 22, 2015

Vietnamese grilled chicken & rice bowl

Vietnamese food recipes for kids

Eating fresh and healthy food as a family doesn’t have to mean boring.  We love oriental style meals in this house as they always offers lots of flavour and often without too much effort.  Home cooked oriental food is always better and so much healthier than a take-away.  One of my favourites is this Vietnamese street food inspired dish of grilled chicken with rice and pickled veggies.  The Vietnamese version almost always uses pork and noodles but I use chicken for a healthier option and I think rice works better than noodles in this dish so rice it is.  I also use different herbs and spices than the traditional so you could say this is my take on a Vietnamese classic.

Vietnamese recipes with pictures

Once you try this dish, I promise you will never look back.  How can ingredients like the ones pictured above be anything but flavourful?  The grilled chicken in the dish is just delicious and all the other flavours come together to make for an absolutely beautiful bowl of food.  What’s more this dish is versatile and can be adapted for different tastes within a family – if you want to go low carb, leave out the rice and have it on a bed of salad or if you’re eating really healthy use brown rice.  Also the toppings are all optional so everybody can choose what they want on their dish.  The dish takes a little effort to prep but you can strip it down for a quicker meal or go the whole hog when you have a bit more time.  Like the pickled veg for instance – you can serve it with just freshly sliced veg instead of pickling when time is short.

VIETNAMESE GRILLED CHICKEN AND RICE RECIPE
Serves: 4

For the marinade:
700gms boneless & skinless chicken thighs
2-3 shallots very finely chopped
3 garlic cloves minced (add more or less depending on taste)
2 stalks fresh lemon grass lightly bruised and very finely chopped
50gms granulated sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
1.5 tbs dark soy sauce (the dark soy is important as it’s a lot thicker than usual soy)
1.5 tbs sesame oil
generous amount of freshly ground pepper

Toppings:
2-3 tbs toasted sesame seeds
handful of chopped coriander
3-4 thinly sliced spring onions (topped with 2 tbs hot olive oil and a pinch of salt and sugar)
1-2 sliced red chilies (optional)

Pickled veg:
2 x 3 inch piece of cucumber cut in to matchsticks
2 x 3 inch piece of carrot cut in to matchsticks
250ml warm water
40ml white vinegar (add more if you like a sharper taste)
1 tbs sugar
½ tsp salt

200-250gms basmati rice cooked as per packet instructions

Start by marinating the chicken thighs.  Just trim any big pieces excess fat but leave a little on as you don’t want the chicken to dry out when it’s cooked.  Cut in to large-ish bite size pieces.  Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl and add the chicken to this.  Give it a very good mix and leave to marinate for at least 1.5-2 hours or longer.

For the picked veg, take a jar and combine the warm water, vinegar, sugar and salt stirring till the sugar is dissolved.  Add the matchstick veg and leave to pickle.  Even an hour or two will do for light pickling.  I don’t like a sharp taste (I prefer a bit more sweetness) so I put very little vinegar but you can adjust quantities to your own taste.  The best way to find the perfect quantities for you is to taste the pickling liquid before you put the veg in so you know exactly how sharp/sweet/salty it is.

vietnamese grilled chicken and rice recipe

Chop and prepare all the toppings if you haven’t done so yet.  For the sesame seeds toast them lightly in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat.  Move them around with a wooden spoon to make sure they toast evenly.  Keep an eye on the seeds as once they start browning they can burn very easily.  Once they’re lightly browned, take them off the heat and out of the frying pan immediately otherwise they will continue to cook.

vietnamese grilled chicken and rice recipe

That’s all the prep done!  When you’re ready to eat cook the rice and place the chicken under a hot grill.  You can also skewer the chicken and cook over a barbecue.  It’s even more delicious but a grill works well too.  Turn the chicken once – around halfway through cooking.  The chicken will take around 10-15 minutes to cook and will come out all dark and beautifully caramelised.  Scoop some rice in to a bowl, top with the chicken and the pickled veg.  Then generously scatter some sesame seeds, coriander, spring onions and chilies (if using) and eat!

This Vietnamese grilled chicken and rice recipe is one of my favourite mid-week family dinners and it’s also a very tasty one dish meal to serve when you have a few friends over as it appeals to adults and kids.  What’s more, kids love being given all the bits of the dish and building their own.  Try it and you won’t regret it!

*I’ve linked up to Honest Mum’s Tasty Tuesdays.

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Filed Under: FOOD Tagged With: asian food, chicken, family friendly recipes, family meals, grilled food, healthy meals, kid friendly recipes, one dish meal, oriental, quick dinners, recipes, rice, vietnamese

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. HonestMum says

    July 22, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    Wow just sunshine on a plate, so full of colour and flavour, I’ve never pickled anything myself either, I can’t believe how simple it is, thank you and I love the idea of kids compiling their own. I’ll definitely be making this, thank you lovely x

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      July 22, 2015 at 9:09 pm

      Thank you lovely. Do make it – seriously delicious. The flavours are so good. xx

      Reply
  2. Mel says

    July 23, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    Oooh, it sounds like you have your kitchen back (finally!). I love Asian food, and in France, we eat a lot of Vietnamese food. It is definitely my favourite, as I have been eating it since I was a child. Your take on Vietnamese food is making me hungry… and I’ve just had dinner!

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      July 24, 2015 at 8:19 am

      Yes! We do have a kitchen. I think I’ve barely used any other room since the kitchen started working. Am SO enjoying being back in there. Love Vietnamese food too – next on the list is to go to Vietnam and eat it there! If you fancy it, do try this recipe – it is seriously delicious x

      Reply
  3. Sarah aka CocoandLentil says

    August 4, 2015 at 10:56 am

    Looks so delicious! Love Vietnamese food too. Will have to make this! Vietnam is top of my travel list once the kids are a little older and we can ditch the buggies!

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      August 4, 2015 at 5:52 pm

      Thank you. I so recommend it – the flavours are just soooo good! Vietnam is on my travel list too – hopefully soon!

      Reply
  4. Amy says

    August 4, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    This looks amazing! Finn would love the whole assembling his own dinner idea. I think that is why he like fajitas so much! This would definitely be a winner in our house 🙂

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      August 4, 2015 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you! Do give it a try – it really is yummy and fun for the kids.

      Reply
  5. Alison says

    August 4, 2015 at 7:53 pm

    This looks amazing. And I think it would be perfect for my fussy eater. Thank you for sharing the recipe. #TastyTuesday

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      August 5, 2015 at 8:39 am

      Thank you – it is such a delicious dish. I have a fussy eater too who enjoys it and it helps that she can build her own dish.

      Reply
  6. Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says

    August 6, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    All of these ingredients sound divine together! Simply delicious x #TastyTuesdays

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      August 7, 2015 at 1:21 pm

      Thank you and they are so yummy. Such amazing flavours.

      Reply
  7. International Elf Service says

    August 6, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Oh wow I just love love the sound of all these flavours!! The kids would absolutely love to build this all up themselves and eat – another winning recipe!! Thank you for sharing x

    Reply
    • ebabee likes says

      August 7, 2015 at 1:21 pm

      Thank you too. Try it – you will love it . Promise.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. ebabee likes:Warming Vietnamese chicken and rice soup says:
    September 30, 2015 at 12:48 pm

    […] If you like your Vietnamese food, you might enjoy this delicious Vietnamese grilled chicken dish […]

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Nomita.  Do you love warm minimal Scandinavian interiors?  Then you’ve come to the right place. I’m here to show you how you too can create a cosy, clutter-free home where everything you own is both beautiful and useful to you.

 

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