Sesame Balls

If you visit a Chinese or Vietnamese market on the weekend, you will likely find sesame balls among the pile of fresh pastries. This is one of my favorite indulgences – a crispy fried dough ball, coated with sesame, and filled with a sweet yellow bean paste.  Because it’s fried, you may want to grab a couple of napkins, wrap it around the sesame balls and squeeze off the excess grease.  It flattens the balls but still just as good and a little less greasy! 

  

Sesame Balls, originally uploaded by simpleviet.

 

Jalapeño Chicken

If you like heat, this is a perfect dish for you.  You’ll be surprised how much flavor you get from such simple ingredients.  To accommodate those who do not like bones and yet have the benefit of flavor from chicken on the bone, you can use ½ a chicken and 2 boneless chicken breasts.  Don’t be afraid by the number of jalapeño, when cooked there is not as much heat.

Jalapeño Chicken Stir-Fry (Ga Kho Cay)

(Serves 4-6)

1 whole chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp crushed black pepper

2 tbsp chopped ginger

3 cloves garlic

3-4 jalapeño sliced

5 tbsp fish sauce

1/3 cup water

 

1.  Place 1/3 of the chopped chicken skin side down into a large hot frying pan, medium high heat.  Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper.  Fry until each side is golden brown.  Set aside.  Continue to fry the rest of the chicken in batches. 

2.  Return the cooked chicken to the frying pan.  Stir in the ginger, garlic, and sliced jalapeño.  Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes on medium-low.

3.  Add fish sauce and water to the pan.  Gently stir-fry for another 5-8 minutes.

4.  Serve with Jasmine white rice. 

Jalapeño Chicken, originally uploaded by simpleviet.