Chutney is a great side dish for both spicy Indian dishes and slow cooked or braised dishes. And curries. The most famous version is probably mango chutney, but rhubarb chutney is at least as good, and a really good variation.
Chickpeas are cheap, healthy and can be used for a myriad of dishes. Unfortunately, they have to be soaked many hours before they can be cooked. Who of us remember to do that? So it usually ends with canned chickpeas, or with something else entirely. Fortunately, you can cook them in under an hour with a pressure cooker.
The regular large Chinese-inspired spring/egg rolls we typically eat in Denmark are just fine, but they can not measure up with the Vietnamese. It is small, juicy and crispy at the same time. The filling tastes like a mix of meatballs and fish cakes, and the dipping sauce is filled with acid, sweetness and umami. It is also gluten free, for those who do not like the glutens.
Most people knows the spring roll. A fried pancake filled with force meat and cabbage. It is good. But surprisingly, the Vietnamese spring roll is at least as good. Even thoigh it is the diametrical opposition of the spring roll. Rice paper instead of pancake. Raw instead of deep fried. Raw vegetables and a light meat filling instead of roasted force meat.
It is the perfect starter or a nice "light" breakfast. It's also a good way to cheat the kids to eat some vegetables. The rolls can be varied with just about any filling that suits your taste. Yet another of my favorite Asian dishes.
Pho is the Vietnamese version of the classical chicken meat soup. The difference is that it is more used as a "pho principle" than as a single recipe. The basic soup itself is very simple, but the content can be varied indefinitely.
Crispy chicken is some of the best meat you can eat. I should know, as I do it often. Especially when there is a busy week ahead and I prepare food for several days for Asian dishes. Then it only takes 10 minutes to prepare the meat on the day itself.
When ordering an Asian dish with crispy chicken, it is usually the breast you get. But in fact, the thigh is even better to fry. You use almost the same technique for thighs and breasts, but there is still a slight difference, so I will make two different recipes.
One of the things we all have a bad conscience about, is eating too little vegetable. When you finally remember to buy the vegetables, you get overly optimistic and buy too much. Then they just lie in the fridge and become soggy. My way of solving that, is by preparing a lot of vegetables at the same time, for example, on Sundays, so I have enough for a whole week, or at least for several days. It makes it much easier to just take out a serving of vegetables and use in a soup, or in a stir fry or other Asian dishes. In this video I describe what I do and why.
When you know you have a busy week coming, it's a good idea to prepare in advance so that the individual dishes can be simple and quick. I usually cook chicken dishes in those weeks. Therefore, I prepare enough chicken for as many meals as I need.
I often make the same kind of food for a week at a time. Asian, Indian, French, etc. Chicken prepared in this way is especially suitable for Asian week.
There are 4 servings per chicken, so it's just a matter of multiplying how many meals you need. If you are four in the family then it is a chicken a day.
It's a recipe I have copied from my local Vietnamese restaurant, where I've been coming for many years. It i suitable most meals and is incredibly easy to make. 15 minutes from start to finish if you are a little efficient. It has a really good strong taste and satiates well.
Garam Masala is a spice mix. Made up of a lot of regular spices mixed together. Actually it is Indian/Pakistani but it can easily be used in other cuisines as well. Many of the same spices are used in Arabic and Mexican cuisine as well. So it is a very practical thing to have in the cupboard as it goes well with a range from foods from Chicken Tikka Masala to tacos ans burritos.
