Auckland-based Cafe Hanoi launched its new summer menu last month, inspired by Executive Chef Nathan Houpapa’s recent trip to Vietnam.
Developed with Cuong Nguyen, Houpapa’s new Head Chef, the menu is a blend of modern and traditional Vietnamese dishes and features new entrees, main courses and salads. Each dish is designed to be eaten in warmer weather and to pair well with Hanoi classics, like Shaking Beef and Crispy Fish rice paper rolls, that are on the menu year-round.
Chef Nathan has put together exclusively for MiNDFOOD a Vietnamese-inspired BBQ dish perfect for summer:
BBQ Lemongrass, ginger & kaffir lime chicken skewers
2kg Chicken Thigh – free range skinless boneless
50g galangal – frozen
80g lemongrass – frozen sliced
20g turmeric – frozen
10g kaffir lime leaf – finely sliced
60g garlic – clove peeled
50g chillies – red
5g Thai chilli – red frozen
80g shallots – peeled
10g five spice
50ml fish sauce
3g mixed peppercorns – crushed
1 tsp turmeric powder
160ml canola oil
60g palm sugar – light
Bamboo skewers
Method
Roughly chop all ingredients except chicken. Blend to a paste in a kitchen blender to make a fine paste.
Cut the chicken into cubes. Marinate the chicken overnight or for at least a few hours. Thread the chicken onto the skewers – (pro tip – soak the skewers in water for a couple of hours beforehand so that they don’t burn on the BBQ).
Grill over a hot BBQ until cooked. Great served with a squeeze of lime.
For more on the Cafe Hanoi menu, click here.
