Wok Wednesdays | Chinese Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

WW wokking thru Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

 

 As the saying goes, less is more. Should have forwent the rice balls on the plate..

Mise in place.

Bowl 1: Chicken, cornstarch, salt, pepper, oil

Bowl 2: Lemongrass, garlic, Thai red pepper (recipe calls for jalapeño)

Bowl 3: Onion

Bowl 4: Chicken broth, fish sauce

Bowl 5: Brown sugar

 (photo source)

Lemongrass. I have used it a couple of times - the light lemony flavor adds that perfect touch of citrus flavor, without the overpowering, sometimes bitter taste that you can get when you use lemon zest. It is becoming more widely available - found in most supermarkets today - albeit, tucked away in an obscure corner...

Grace mentions in the book, "Not to be alarmed if the chicken seems to be "dry" after marinating." 

The "marinade" consists of only cornstarch, salt, pepper, and a small amount (1 tsp.) of oil. In past recipes, there has also been some liquid of sort, such as soy sauce and rice wine. It's amazing how moist the chicken is without the extra moisture that the soy sauce and rice wine would lend.

Well, over on the Wok Wednesdays Facebook page, everyone has given this recipe high marks.

This recipe was not a complete success for me. I somehow must have used too much fish sauce - for that was pretty much the dominate flavor. I could taste in the background, a slight hint of the lemongrass, and the sweetness from the sugar, but mostly - fish sauce.

Even cleaning up after dinner, I could smell the scent of the fish sauce. Just was not a good thing for me.

Which brings up a question. Fish sauce, as you may know, has a very unpleasant odor, but once cooked, lends the most delicious flavor to foods normally. How do you know when your fish sauce has gone bad?

Putting away my bottle, I noticed it did have an expiration date of February... I wasn't too concerned after consulting a favorite site of mine, Still Tasty dot com. I did throw the rest out however, and will purchase a new bottle when a future recipe calls for it.

 Cucumber flower garnish found on Pinterest.

I have to thank Karen, of Karen's Kitchen Stories for the heads up that this stir-fry could use a splash of color. I was looking for a simple radish garnish, for I have a few radishes in the fridge that need to be used up, when I came across the pretty cucumber flower - not as intricate as the one I found on Pinterest - but a lot of fun to make just the same. 

Thanks Karen!!

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 143 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

Wok Wednesdays is an online cooking group. If you would like information about joining us, click here, or visit us on Facebook. Would love for you to wok along with us!