good things - Liz Posmyk
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • My book
  • Writing & Media
  • FAQs

Roadtest and Review: Secrets of the Red Lantern by Pauline Nguyen with Recipes by Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen

11/9/2011

4 Comments

 
Picture
Secrets of the Red Lantern, cover photo courtesy Murdoch Books
Followers of the acclaimed Red Lantern Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney’s Surry Hills will know and love Pauline Nguyen’s first book Secrets Of The Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart - With Recipes By Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen (Murdoch Books).

Together with The Songs of Sapa by her brother, Luke Nguyen, this tome has become a treasured and much used addition to my cookbook library. 
In Chapter one, Skin, Bones and the Basics, we learn how the Nguyen family escaped Vietnam before arriving in Australia in the late 1970s and the children were “ruled over by strict, food obsessed parents” who ran Pho Cay Du, a Vietnamese restaurant in Cabramatta’s main street.  There is more about this venture in Chapter six.

Pauline explains that the emphasis on freshness is what most distinguishes Vietnamese food from other cuisines, and she explains the importance of crunch and contrast, and must-have ingredients.

Precious family photos, a wealth of recipes generously shared and heart-warmingly candid stories about the family’s lives and their shared passion for food are covered eloquently in Secrets Of The Red Lantern’s ten chapters.

Gà Xào Xá ớt, Lemon Grass and Chilli Chicken, is perhaps one of my favourite dishes from the book and I road test the recipe here. Luke writes “This is a classic, and very popular, southern Vietnamese chicken dish … a quick and easy dish to prepare, with loads of flavour and fragrance. Be sure to drizzle the sauce over your steamed jasmine rice”.

You need 500g of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which you trim and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Then finely chop the white part of one lemon grass stem, a small chilli and two cloves of garlic. (Note: Luke’s recipe calls for pickled chilli, but you can use fresh or dried chilli to your taste as well…  I sometimes use two teaspoons of dried chilli).

For the marinade, mix together two tablespoons of fish sauce, one tablespoon of caster sugar and half of the chopped lemon grass, garlic and chilli.  Pour this over the chicken pieces and refrigerate. The recipe recommends four hours or overnight, but I’ve successfully done this in less time.

When you’re ready to cook, heat a wok or large pan over medium heat and add some peanut or vegetable oil.  Toss in the lemon grass, garlic and chilli and cook very briefly, then add the chicken, a bit at a time so as not to take the temperature of the wok or pan down. Stir and sear, then add one or two sliced eschalots (the recipe calls for white onion, but I prefer the eschalots) and continue to fry.

Finally, add one cup of good chicken stock. Pop on a lid and simmer over a reduced heat for around five minutes, then remove the lid, crank up the heat and reduce the sauce quickly. (I like to allow the chicken to caramelise well in the wok, adds a lovely depth of flavour!). Garnish with a sprinkle of coriander and serve with steamed jasmine rice. This recipe will serve four.

The verdict: Luke’s recipe for Gà Xào Xá ớt, Lemon Grass and Chilli Chicken is easy to follow and produces a sumptuous and fragrant Vietnamese dish that you’ll want to cook again and again.

Secrets Of The Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart By Pauline Nguyen With Recipes By Luke Nguyen and Mark Jensen (Murdoch Books) is available from book stores and online, such as the UK Book Depository. Or you can order signed copies of the book from the Red Lantern restaurant.  Watch Luke Nguyen prepare Gà Xào Xá ớt here.
Picture
Prepared Gà Xào Xá ớt and photo by Lizzy
4 Comments
Lauren Posmyk
14/12/2011 06:49:19 pm

this is a great dish! Mum cooked it for me and my partner last night and it was delicious! Reminded me of real Asian flavors! Can't wait to try this at home.

Reply
Lizzy (Mum)
14/12/2011 07:04:24 pm

Lauren, thanks for popping in! Peter and I love this one too... so delicious.

Reply
Erin@TheFoodMentalist link
12/2/2012 08:34:14 pm

Absolutely delicious Lizzy! Great post & review :)

Reply
Lizzy
12/2/2012 08:41:58 pm

Thanks Erin! This dish, the restaurant and the book are our favourites!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Bookshelf

    Cookbook reviews and interviews with food writers and chefs.



    Titles/Authors

    All
    101 Cookbooks
    5:2 Lifestyle
    Adam Liaw
    Adrian Richardson
    Almond Bar
    Almonds : Recipes
    Ancient Grains
    Annabel Crabb
    Anna Bergenström And Fanny Bergenström
    Anna Gare
    Annie Rigg
    A Passion For Fruit
    A Story Of Seven Summers
    Australian Vegetable Garden
    Bake
    Catherine Saxelby
    Charmaine Solomon
    Chefs
    Clive Blazey
    Coffee Trails
    Complete Food And Nutrition Companion
    Cookery Book
    Country Womens Association Classics
    Crust
    Culture
    David Thompson
    Delicious
    Delicious Every Day
    Delicious. Home Cooking
    Dish It Up
    Doggylicious
    Dominique Rizzo
    Eat
    Eat In
    Eleanor Ozich
    Elizabeth David
    Emma Galloway
    Farmers Market Family Cookbook
    Food Markets Of The World
    Frances Mayes Edward Mayes
    Francis Van Arkel
    Fried Chicken & Friends By Gregory Llewellyn & Naomi Hart
    Growing Your Own Fruit And Vegetables
    Guy Mirabella
    Hayden Quinn
    Heidi Swanson
    Hilary Burden
    History
    Home Baking
    Home Cheese Making In Australia
    Hungry
    Ian Hemphill
    In A Glass
    Indochine
    Italian Food
    Jane Grover
    Johnnie Mountain
    Jo Wheatley
    Kate Walsh
    Limoncello And Linen Water
    Lorenza De'Medici
    Love
    Love Aimee X By Aimee Twigger
    Luke Mangan
    Luke Nguyen
    Maggie Beer
    Maggie's Christmas
    Margaret Fulton
    Marie Claire Summer
    Marion Grasby
    Marion's Kitchen
    Mark Jensen
    Matthew Evans
    Maximum Flavour
    Monday Morning Cooking Club The Food
    Monday Morning Cooking Club - The Food
    My Darling Lemon Thyme
    My Family Table
    My Kitchen Year
    My Petite Kitchen
    My Taste Of Sicily
    Naked Food
    New Vegetarian Kitchen
    Nicola Graimes
    Nigel Slater
    Pauline Nguyen
    Pies And Tarts
    Pig
    Real Food Projects
    Rediscover Australian Pears
    Richard Bertinet
    Ruth Reichl
    Salmon Cookbook
    Salt Grill
    Same Same But Different
    Secrets Of The Red Lantern
    Sharon Salloum
    Signature Dishes
    Simply Gluten-free & Dairy-free
    Simply The Best
    Slow Cooking
    Special Delivery
    Spice Notes
    Stephane Reynaud
    Super Natural Every Day
    Sweet Things
    Tessa Kiros
    Thai Food
    The Australian Vegetable Garden
    The Complete Asian Cookbook
    The Diggers Club
    The Dinner Ladies
    The Dirty Chef
    The Feast Goes On
    The Food Of Vietnam
    The Gentle Art Of Preserving
    The Good Life
    The Sisterhood
    The Stories
    The Tuscan Sun Cookbook
    Toby Smith
    Two Asian Kitchens
    Under The Tuscan Sun
    Under The Walnut Tree
    Valerie Pearson
    Veganissimo!
    Winter On The Farm


Good Things is written and published by Liz Posmyk © 2011-2020.   All rights reserved.
Excerpts may be used provided that full and clear credit is given. Thank you.


  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • My book
  • Writing & Media
  • FAQs