It was my dad’s birthday last week and rather than go out for dinner, I decided to cook something up at their house. The only restriction was that the meal had to be made gluten free (for my sister). This didn’t pose to much of a problem, as the only ingredient that needed to be changed was the soy sauce. Yes, soy sauce has gluten! She had gluten-free soy sauce and so I was ready to go.
This Vietnamese-style chicken recipe was taken from Sunday Dinner, as well as the scallion rice. Its very simple and just requires that you marinate your bone-in chicken thighs the night before, or at very least, that morning. The rice really is a “dirty” rice, however, I tried to keep out more of the chicken bits for the vegetarian.
For the Vegetarian side of the meal, I made Mark Bittman’s Tofu in Caramel Sauce from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. This recipe bring a lot of flavor to boring simple tofu. I also braised some butternut squash in chicken stock for a tasty and simple vegetable.
Here are the recipes for the Chicken and Tofu:
Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Ga Ro Ti)
Ingredients:
Serves 4, from Sunday Nite Dinner
2.5 lbs chicken thighs (bone in, with skin)
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil, plus additional for frying
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil, plus additional for frying
4 garlic cloves, minced
Trim any excess fat from chicken thighs.
In medium bowl, whisk together sugar, pepper, soy sauce, oil and fish sauce. Add garlic and stir. Add chicken to bowl and move around to ensure they are all covered. Stuff a little garlic under the skin, carefully to avoid ripping, for added flavor. Move chicken to baking dish and cover, or cover bowl and marinate in fridge over night, or at least 12 hours.
Place oven rack to middle. Preheat oven to 350. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. and chicken, skin side down, avoiding crowding. Cook in batches if necessary. Reduce heat to medium and cook 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Flip and cook additional 2-3 minutes.
Drain pan of burnt garlic, but do not clean pan. Place chicken into baking pan, skin side up and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until it reaches a 170 internal temp. Serve with dirty rice.
Before
After
“Dirty” Scallion Rice
Ingredients:
Serves 4-5
Serves 4-5
Printable Version
2 Cup cooked rice, preferably a stickier rice
10-12 green onions, including whites, sliced
1-2 tbsp chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Use drained skillet from chicken, with chicken residue and add scallions over medium heat. Cook 3-4 minutes. Deglaze pan with chicken stock, cook 30 seconds, add salt and pepper.
Add cooked rice to pan and fold in scallions. Let cook an additional minute. Serve immediately with chicken.
Tofu in Caramel Sauce
Ingredients:
Serves 2
Printable Version
1 brick tofu, patted dry and cut into small squares
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup asian fish sauce or soy sauce
3-4 shallots, diced
1 tbsp lime juice (or lemon)
1-2 tbsp water
black pepper
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup asian fish sauce or soy sauce
3-4 shallots, diced
1 tbsp lime juice (or lemon)
1-2 tbsp water
black pepper
Put sugar and tablespoon of water in a 10-12″ non-stick skillet over medium heat. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. Add more water if needed. Cook until sugar begins to brown. Turn off heat.
Add soy sauce or fish sauce. Turn heat to low and add shallots. Cook, stirring, for 5-10 minutes until shallots are tender. Add pepper to taste and tofu.
Gently simmer, turning tofu once or twice, for approximately 10-15 minutes. Stir in lime juice and add additional pepper or salt to taste. Serve over scallion rice
The tofu recipe looks delicious!
It is soo good. I don't eat that much Tofu, but I wish I made more for me this time!!
Um, now I know exactly what I'm doing with my leftover chicken tomorrow. Awesome. Also, I've never really cooked tofu before – think I'm going to have to try this sometime SOON.
Until a few years ago, I wouldn't eat Tofu, let alone cook it…this is definitely a good way to try it out
those two dishes look great!
Hi Evan
Nice blog! Have you seen mine, I married MR. TOFU, so I know you're mixed diet pain. I wrote a book that I think you might enjoy.
I've been thinking of trying tofu in the Vietnames Kho way for awhile. Thanks for beating me to it!
Thanks, Ivy, I appreciate it. I have not seen yours, but I am browsing now. This is actually my first go with this tofu recipe, but i've made other meat that way. I didn't realize it was referred to as "kho"
@Ravenous Couple: Thanks!
This looks really good, maybe this is how I can sneak some tofu into hubby's dinner 🙂
Oh my gosh, this looks fantastic! I'm definitely bookmarking this one.
Thanks!
Wow, this looks amazing. Gluten-free often poses a big challenge for me, but you seem to handle it quite deftly! Will definitely try this 🙂
be sure to check the soy sauce label…some are gluten free, some aren't