By France Morissette and Joshua Sprague, Beyond the Peel
Isn’t one of the best things about traveling exploring the food that is so uniquely of that culture? The different flavors, vegetables used in different ways, spices I’ve never heard of, food I’ve never seen. It’s amazing. But I’ve always been a little bit of a gourmand, aka piggy. What can I say. I love food.
5 spice is commonly used in Asian dishes. Make your own at home, and save it for future uses. Beyond the Peel
It seems a little strange to be thinking about Vietnamese dishes as I sit and look out the window. It’s currently snowing and -12 degrees C. (Joshua is American, so that’s 11 degrees F. for all of you south of the border). And even though it is cold, it is stunningly beautiful. The tiniest snowflakes are falling with almost no wind by the thousands every millisecond.
In Vietnam, the high today is 31 degrees C., or 89 degrees F. In a country that rarely experiences cold except in the far reaches of the north-western parts, the majority of Vietnamese food is a little spicy and almost always hot, braised, in soup form or stewed. I don’t know about you, but if I lived in a country that rarely saw temperatures under 22 degrees C. or 71 degrees F., I think I’d choose to live off salads, not eating beef pho (beef and noodle soup) for breakfast. But that’s just me. As it turns out, Vietnamese food is perfectly suited for a northern Canadian girl that is currently freezing.
One of the wonderful things (or at least I think so) about Vietnamese cuisine is that they use every part of the animal. Nothing is wasted. As a result, recipes that use less desirable (what we would consider undesirable) cuts of meat are common. Ox tail, the brown meat on chicken, pork shoulder, tongue, feet, and everything in between. Cheap cuts of meat are rarely considered a culinary delight in North America. But in Vietnam, everything is good to go. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start posting duck tongue stew, or boiled chicken feet, but it is refreshing to make delicious, flavorful, and inexpensive meals.
Chinese 5 spice or as it is seen commonly in Vietnamese cookbooks as 5 spice, can be bought or simply made. 5 spice is also used in other Asian and Arabic cooking so if you’re adventurous you’ll find plenty of uses for it. The ingredients are simple and if you have a well stocked spice cupboard you may already have the ingredients you need without having to spend any money.
5 spice is essentially made up of star anis, clove, cinnamon, fennel seeds, and szechuan pepper, but some recipes will include ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, licorice, black pepper, and/or orange peel. I wanted to give you a fairly standard recipe, but feel free to explore a bit with the list of optional spices. Play around and you’ll have a recipe that is all your own. Like your families special blend! (See recipe below.)
You may want to double or even triple this chicken recipe based on your needs. This is enough for 2-4 people depending on how many chicken thighs you each eat. This is the equivalent of 4 meals for me, but a family might to want double the recipe, or if you have a dude in your life that eats 3 thighs in one sitting… you may not want to double the vegetables as I tend to go pretty heavy in that department.
This recipe can be made with beef or pork and any tough cuts of meat you may have gotten a deal on. Simply increase the cooking time to yield tender meat. Beef will take about 2-1/2 hours. You could also make this with cubed pumpkin or squash as a delightful vegetarian or even vegan dish.
CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE!!!!!
