Spicy, salty, herby, and so dang yummy.

A Vietnamese-inspired chicken dish with roasted broccoli and an abundance of aromatic fresh herbs and spices.

FULL RECIPE

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INGREDIENTS

2 Chicken Thighs (cubed)
4 c Broccoli
1 Thai Pepper
1/4 c Fish Sauce
1/4 c Cashews (toasted) ⁣
2 tbl Chili Garlic Sauce (Sambal)
1/4 c Cilantro (finely chopped)
2 tbl Green Onions (sliced on the bias)⁣
9 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 Shallot (diced)
1 tbl Oyster Sauce
2 tbl Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
4 Lime Wedges (garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Gather all your mise en place (ingredients all prepped and placed in separate bowls: mince garlic and Thai pepper, slice green onions, dice shallots, chop cilantro, cube chicken)
Prepared your broccoli on a sheet pan by breaking off small pieces and evenly distributing them across the sheet pan. Pour over 2 tablespoons of oil across all the broccoli, evenly distribute the salt and pepper and mix all together.
Place the sheet pan in the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.
While the broccoli is roasting, toast the cashews in the medium-size pan on medium heat. Do not add oil. After 3 minutes, stir or shake to flip the cashews. Cook for another 3 minutes and remove from the heat.
Pour the cashews into a bowl and pound them with the fish sauce bottle or some type of hard tool. You just want to break up the pieces — there’s really no science to it.
In the small pot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and turn on the heat to medium. Once hot, add the shallots. Cook for 3 minutes then turn the heat down a smidge to a low-medium.
Add the garlic and stir both together.
Now to start the chicken… In the medium pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil and turn on the heat to medium. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking on the first side, go back to the small pot with the shallots and garlic and add in the sambal (chili garlic sauce) and the Thai chili peppers. Stir until all the ingredients become infused with the red color. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 minutes.
Add a little more than half of the broken-up cashews to the chili sauce mix. Add half of the green onions and half of the cilantro to the pot. (Reserve the rest of the cashews, green onions, and cilantro to garnish) Cook for 3 minutes.
At this point, the chicken should be ready to flip. Turn over the pieces of chicken and reduce the heat just a smidge to a low-medium. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Back to the saucepot… Add the oyster sauce and the fish sauce and mix. Bring the heat back up to medium and cook for 3 minutes. This should start to bubbles around the edges and thicken.
Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to mix. After 3 minutes, take a tasting spoon (just a normal spoon but using it to taste) and spoon on some of the sauce and taste it. IF it’s too salty, add another tablespoon of sugar. Mix and taste it again. IF it is still too salty, add more sugar until it reaches the taste YOU like.
Take it off the heat and pour in 3/4 of the sauce in the chicken pan. (Reserve the rest of the sauce for later.)
Stir the sauce into the chicken and cook at a medium heat for 5 minutes. Then increase the heat a smidge to a higher medium and cook for another 3 minutes. Your chicken should have a caramelized coloring and thickness. (Sorta like barbecue sauce)
Reduce the heat to low-medium. Remove the broccoli from the oven and place it on top of the chicken. Pour in the remainder of the sauce and mix all the ingredients together to incorporate.
Remove the pan from the heat. Garnish with the cashews, green onions, cilantro, and enjoy with a bowl of rice and a squeeze of a lime wedge.

FULL RECIPE

Falling in love with Vietnamese food.

One of the things I loved most about my partner when we first met, was the introduction to the most delicious and authentic Vietnamese food.

When I first met his mom, the first thing she did was fed me. And when I say she fed me, this woman packed a mountain of rice on my plate, handed me a pair of chopsticks, and shared a medium-size pot full of pork belly and bamboo. IT WAS SO GOOD BUT SO MUCH FOOD. Yet, I couldn’t get enough of it and she was handing me cookies, candies, and other desserts until I physically couldn’t fit any more food in my body.

From then on, I was hooked.

I knew he was the one when I realized that life around him not only made my heart full but also my freaking stomach. (Heyooo, relationship weight)

My relationship with his mom grew stronger with my genuine curiosity to learn how to cook the nostalgic Vietnamese meals he grew up loving. “Mom’s chicken,” as he’d call it, was his favorite dish growing up and continues to be his favorite dish of all time. So I knew I needed to learn how to make it.

So I did… And well, it still isn’t as AMAZING as hers… BUT I have a lifetime of love to keep practicing until I get it just right.

This dish here is inspired by my MIL, Ngan’s chicken, and one of our favorite dishes from the best restaurant in Portland, Eem. (Where we devour nearly every dish on the menu — leaving absolutely no space on our table — but, I mean IYKYFK.)

I tried to recreate their “Hot Cauliflower.” Nailed down the flavor but wanted to elevate what was already elevated. Swapped out the cauliflower for broccoli and peanuts for cashews — and my goodness, what a cry baby moment.

In tears of palette-pleasing pleasure.

Creating a fusion of Eddie’s favorite childhood dish with one of our favorite dishes we discovered together and making a yummy elevated version has to be one of my most rewarding recipes.

It means a lot. And it’s fucking delicious.

List of ingredients:

Chicken Thighs
Broccoli
Thai Pepper
Fish Sauce
Cashews
Chili Garlic Sauce (Sambal)
Cilantro
Green Onions
Garlic
Shallot
Oyster Sauce
Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Lime

List of utensils:

Half-size Sheet Pan 18x13
Medium-size Pan
Small-size Pot⁣⁣⁣⁣
Knife
Cutting Board
Mise En Place Bowls ⁣⁣⁣⁣
Stove
Oven
Wooden Cooking Spoon / Utensil⁣⁣⁣⁣

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