Vietnamese Sticky Chicken and Pickled Vegetables

So, a week later, the wedding diets have begun... kidding (sort of). Luckily, after a weekend of rather rich foods, I was craving something "Asian" tonight (which, you know, is almost laughingly vague). For me, this usually means either Thai or Vietnamese flavors when I am throwing something together at home. There is something that just feels so fresh and healthy about food from that area of the world.  The combination of grassy, cool herbs, lime juice, hot chiles, paired with earthy umani flavors literally makes my tastebuds dance anytime I think about them. Seriously, someone take care of this drool, it's embarrassing.

I was tempted to go with my favorite Vietnamese chicken recipe published in Food and Wine a few years ago, but when I saw a similar Gourmet recipe, I decided I would try something new.  Plus, this one included instructions to make pickled vegetables, which was sure to add a nice tangy crunch to our meal. The original recipe recommends wrapping the chicken and pickled vegetables up in lettuce leaves, which sounds like a really nice and fresh way of preparing this meal.  This time, I decided to serve it up over a bowl of steamed brown rice.  Since there are just two of us, I  decreased the amount of chicken that we used, but kept the amount of sauce and pickled vegetables the same. After all, we can eat healthy, fresh Vietnamese food, but we are still gluttonous Americans at heart. 

Vietnamese Sticky Chicken with Pickled Vegetables

adapted from Gourmet, 2005 (original recipe can be found here)

For chicken

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha or other Asian hot chile sauce

1 1/2 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

For pickled vegetables

2 medium carrots, peeled

1/2 lb daikon radish, peeled (I used thinly sliced cucumbers here)

1/2 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Top with fresh herbs, such as mint, basil or cilantro.  Others sprinkled chopped peanuts, green onions, or other vegetables onto their chicken.  I also added sliced red pepper to our dinner, for added crunch and color.

Directions:

Whisk together the garlic, sugar, fish sauce, oil, lime juice and hot sauce in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Add chicken, toss to coat, and put aside to marinate for 15 minutes.

While chicken is marinating, slice carrots and radish (or cucumber) into thin matchsticks (or slices, as I did). Whisk together the vinegar, sugar and salt into a bowl until sugar is dissolved, add vegetables and toss.  Let the mixture stand, tossing occasionally, while you prepare the rest of the meal (at least 15 minutes).

The original recipe directs the cook to use a grill pan (I assume a grill would also work.) Since I don’t have a grill pan and it is way too chilly to grill outside, I decided to use the technique from the caramelized chicken recipe from Food and Wine, and simply cooked the chicken and the sauce over high heat in a non-stick pan until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is just cooked through (this keeps the meat very moist). I first cooked the sliced red pepper until slightly softened, then put it aside. I then turned the heat up even more and poured the chicken and it's marinade into the hot pan, tossing and cooking until the chicken was no longer pink inside, about 7 minutes. 

Spoon chicken and sauce over brown rice. Place the pickled vegetables on the side. Sprinkle with fresh herbs ( I used mint, which tasted very Vietnamese to me).  I also ended up mixing my vegetables in with everything else, which made for a really refreshing meal. Enjoy!