Pressure Cooker Pho Ga

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, split in half
• 1 small hand of ginger, roughly sliced
• 1 small bunch cilantro
• 2 star anise pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 small black cardamom (optional)
• 6 to 8 chicken drumsticks (or around 1.2 kg chicken meat with bones)
• 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons rock sugar or raw sugar, plus more to taste
•  
• To Serve:
• 4 servings pho noodles, prepared according to package directions
• 1 small white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 2 cups mixed herbs (cilantro, basil, and mint)
• 2 cups trimmed bean sprouts
• Thinly sliced Thai chilis
• 2 limes, each cut into 4 wedges
• Hoisin sauce and Sriracha

Directions

1. 1.
   Heat oil in a pressure cooker over high heat until smoking. Add halved onions and ginger, cut side down. Cook without moving, reducing heat if smoking excessively, until onion and ginger are well charred, about 5 minutes.
2. 2.
   Add cilantro, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, coriander, and chicken to the pot. Add 2 litres of water, the fish sauce, and the sugar to the pot. Seal the pressure cooker and bring it to high pressure over high heat. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, then shock under cold running water in the sink (or release pressure valve if using an electric pressure cooker).
3. 3.
   Open pressure cooker. Transfer chicken legs to a plate. Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean pot and discard solids. Skim any scum off the surface of the broth using a ladle, but leave the small bubbles of fat intact. Season broth to taste with more fish sauce or salt and sugar if desired.
4. 4.
   To serve, place re-hydrated pho noodles in individual noodle bowls. Top with chicken legs, sliced onions, and scallions. Pour hot broth over chicken and noodles. Serve immediately, allowing guests to add herbs, bean sprouts, chilis, lime, and sauces as they wish.
   
   
   
   * makes 1750 ml of broth which is 580ml for 3 portions and 430ml for 4 portions
   
   

Honey Ginger Chicken

3 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, cut into wedges
1 lb (500 g) boneless chicken thighs or breasts , cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and cut into matchsticks
½ teaspoon 5 spice powder
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

finger length red chili, deseeded and cut into thin strips, for garnish
spring onion or chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish

• Heat oil in a wok over high heat until very hot. Stir fry the onion until fragrant and translucent—about 1 minute. Add chicken and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and stiry fry for another 30 seconds.
• Reduce heat to medium and add five spice powder, and mix well. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and honey, and stir fry 2 minutes more until chicken is well-coated with sauce and cooked through. Remove from heat and transfer to serving platter.
• Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with chili and spring onion or coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Suon Nuong (Vietnamese Pork Chops)

INGREDIENTS

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
⅓ cup thinly sliced shallots
¼ cup thinly sliced lemongrass
2 tbsp. peanut oil
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tbsp. ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. ¼″-thick pork blade chops, pounded thin ( 6 veprovych kotlet )

Cooked white rice and nuoc cham (Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce), fried eggs for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat ½ cup of sugar in a 1-qt. heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling pan often, until sugar dissolves and turns to liquid caramel. Remove from heat; add ¼ cup boiling water. Return pan to heat; cook, swirling pan gently, until caramel dissolves in water. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to a food processor along with remaining sugar, shallots, lemongrass, oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper, and garlic; purée until smooth. Place pork chops in a 9″ × 13″ baking dish and pour over purée; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Heat a 12″ cast-iron grill pan over high heat. Working in batches, add chops; cook, turning once, until charred in spots and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately with rice,fried eggs and chili-garlic sauce.

Vietnamese dressing

• 30 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce 
• 30 ml (¼ cup) rice vinegar 
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 70 ml (¼ cup) water
• 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped 
• 1 red birdseye chilli, very finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp lime juice

To make the dressing, place fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and water in a pan over medium heat and stir to combine. Bring mixture to just below boiling point, then set aside to cool. Add garlic, chilli and lime juice, and stir to combine.