Vietnam Surprise

I have never eaten Vietnamese food before, but judging by my love for everything Asian at the moment, I decided to give it a go. Yesterday was my last day in London, and now I am back in my mum's house in Oxford for the whole month. So as a leaving 'do' I went to a Vietnamese restaurant behind my apartment, and I cannot believe I hadn't tried Vietnamese earlier! It's amazing. The blends of sour, sweet, salty and savory all balance beautifully, and there is a whack of heat from chilli and ginger which is surprisingly pleasent. I am not usually a chilli lover, but I ate all of our chilli dip that came with the Prawn Rolls, and the chilli oil that came with the Vegetable Spring Rolls. For a main, I ate Crispy Chicken Noodles, which isn't very adventurous, but the combination of chicken, crisp noodles, vegetables and a cracking sauce (I've no idea what it was), was a joy to eat!

 Prawn Rolls in a paper pastry, with lettuce and herbs (mint and coriander)

 Crispy Chicken Noodles, with vegetables

My Aunt had a prawn curry dish that was divine! You can even see the chilli on the top, but the heat was manageable and a pleasure to eat. Please excuse the bad photo quality as these were taken on my Blackberry not my camera. 

Chicken Fried Rice

Last night's dinner, in a traditional Chinese rice bowl

So last night's dinner was a massive success! I have never made fried rice of any description before, and I adore the special fried rice from a Chinese take away back home, and I mustered the courage to make Chicken Fried Rice last night. It was amazing, easy to eat, filling and I didn't need any sides! All recipes serve 1, as I live alone!

Sunflower Spray

1/4 tbs of ginger

3 baby mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2 chicken breast, finely chopped

1/4 tbs rice wine

1/4 dark soy

75g cooked rice

1 tbs light soy

1/2 tbs sesame oil

spring onion finely chopped

1. Cook the rice and set aside. Keep the lid on to keep it moist and warm
2. Heat the pan and then add the sunflower spray. Add the ginger and mushroom and stir fry for a few seconds
3. Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes, then add the rice wine. As the chicken turns white, add the dark soy. Add the rice for 1 minute.
4. Mix well and season with light soy and sesame. Mix in the spring onion
5. Serve!

Chicken Chow Mein

Today's dinner came from Chinese Food Made Easy. I know this sounds incredibly English of me, taking short cuts to make oriental food, but I have found the book really easy to follow and work from. I have never eaten Chow Mein from a take away (or restaurant) before, but I love chicken and I love noodles so I went for it! My only addition to the recipe would be the shred the chicken to make it go further. This is a super quick, and super yummy meal and fills you up.
75g of wholeweat noodles
a few drops of sesame oil
1/2 chicken breast, chopped
a dash of dark soy
1 tbs cornflour (I used plain)
sunflower spray
75g beansprouts
1 spring oion
1 tbs light soy

1. Boil the noodles for 3 minutes. Drain, refresh with cold water, and drain again. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss.
2. Season the chicken with the dark soy, and then lightly coat in flour
3. Heat the wok, then spray over the sunflower oil. Add the chicken and stir fry for 2 minutes
4. Add the beansprouts and the spring onion for 1 minutes
5. Mix in the noodles and light soy for 30 seconds.
6. Serve!