Lazy Kway Chup

Different people love different parts of kway chup - my family prefers the small intestines so I use that the most. I can't give an exact amount of how much you'll need of each, but use as much or little as you like!

Some of the ingredients commonly used:

Pork belly
Small intestines, washed
Big intestines
Tau pok
Fish cake
Hard boiled egg

(I marinated the pork belly and intestines in a bit of Mei Kwei Lu, which is a rose alcohol. You won't have to do that for the non pork ingredients)

Sauce for the ingredients:

3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 teaspoons dark soy sauce (the thick syrupy one)

1-2 teaspoon  sesame oil
5 tablespoons normal soy sauce
5 teaspoons sugar

Few dashes Maggi seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Chinese Five spice powder
1 star anise
3-5 cloves
1 centimeter bit of cinnamon stick
4-5 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
3-4 slices ginger, lightly smashed
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns

1 cup of water

For the soup:

2 pork bones
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
black peppercorns
Fresh flat white noodles

1) If using pork belly and intestines, wash the intestines first and marinade all in a bit of Mei kwei lu.

2) Combine all ingredients for the sauce and add to the slow cooker.

3) For pork belly and intestines, add it all together with the sauce in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 2 - 3 hours.

4) While that is cooking, make the soup stock. Throw in the pork bones, onion, garlic and peppercorns into a pot. Add enough water to cover.

5) Bring to a boil and remove scum. Turn down the fire, cover and continue boiling for as long as you can (2-3 hours) - just as the pork belly and intestines are ready.

6) When the pork belly and intestines are tender, add in the other ingredients such as tau pok, fish cake and hard boiled egg. Cook for another 15 - 20 minutes.

7) Strain the stock and add some salt. Then add about 1/2 cup of the sauce into the soup base. Keep it hot.

8) Remove all the ingredients from the slow cooker and start chopping into bite sized pieces. Serve onto a plate and spoon the sauce over.

9) Put some rice noodles into a bowl and spoon over the hot soup.

10) Garnish with coriander, spring onions and fried shallots.

11) Serve with chili sauce. As this is the lazy way, forget about doing it yourself. The chili sauce with garlic and ginger is just as good as home made!

Vietnamese roast chicken

Serves 4

4 chicken leg quaters (thighs & drumsticks attached)

4 stalks spring onions,  white part minced (reserve green parts for sauce)

2-3 large clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoon five spice powder

6 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoon tsao tsing wine

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon finely ground pepper

For basting:

3 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoon vinegar

(Reserve the chicken marinade for this)

Dipping sauce No.1:

Soy sauce (I like the Vietnamese one type as it's got a lot of different notes, but you can use normal soy)

Finely chopped garlic (use however much you like. I used about 2-3 cloves)

Sliced red chilies (use as much as you like as well. I liked mine spicy so I used 5 chili padi)

Dipping sauce No.2:

Spring onion (green parts)

1/2 a knob of ginger, finely grated

Sugar

Salt

4-5 teaspoons vegetable oil

1. Wash and pat dry the chicken and poke it in several places with a sharp paring knife. This helps the marinade to get into the meat.

2. In a ziplock bag, combine the white part of minced spring onions, garlic, five-spice powder, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and stir well. 

3. Dump the chicken into the bag and shake well to distribute the marinade. Let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour or over night. 

4. Preheat oven to 180°C. 

5. Remove the chicken from the bag and reserve the marinade. Place chicken, skin side facing down, on a baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes.

6. While it's in the oven, pour the reserved marinade into a saucepan and turn the heat to high. Reduce till it's syrupy and sticky. Turn off the heat.

7. Mix the reduction with honey and vinegar.

8. After baking chicken for 20 minutes, turn it over and brush the honey vinegar mixture all over the skin. Bake for another 20 minutes. 

10. While it's roasting again, make Dipping sauce No.1.

11. Make Dipping Sauce No.2 by placing the green parts of the chopped spring onions and grated ginger in a small bowl, add a large pinch of salt and a large pinch of sugar, vegetable oil, and microwave for 10-20 seconds.

12. Remove the chicken and baste the chicken with the rest of the baste (if any), and change the setting to grill on super high. Grill till the skin is slightly charred - watch it very carefully as it will brown very quickly.

13. Remove the chicken and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Pour the juices (if any) into a serving bowl as a dipping sauce.

14. Serve with steamed rice and three dipping sauces - chicken juices, spring onion and ginger oil, chili garlic soy.

15. Slice some cucumber and tomatoes as a side. 

* This was adapted from Helen's Recipes on YouTube and her website. I love Vietnamese food and her recipes are the easiest to follow! Tastes amazing too!