Vietnamese memories.

   We all have our favorite restaurants. They don't have to be super fancy or to be the best restaurants in town, but they are special to us for one or another reason. There was (maybe still is) this "Vietnamese" place in Krakow, where me and my sister Dorota used to go all the time. We would order this chicken dish (I don't even remember the name of it), which was absolutely the best (and the cheapest) dish ever. Every time we would want comfort food, we knew where to go. I almost forgot about it, but then my sister found a "Vietnamese chicken" recipe on one of the cooking blogs and she said I have to try it! Oh, she was right, this dish is definitely a must to try. Sweet, salty, spicy and very, very similar to the dish from our favorite restaurant. Check out the recipe (serves 4):

Ingredients:

*  2 chicken breast, cubed
*  1 large onion, thinly sliced
*  1/4 cup soy sauce
*  1 tbsp olive oil
*  2 tbsp sugar

Spice blend:

*  1 tsp garlic powder
*  1 tbsp sweet paprika powder
*  1 tbsp smoked, spicy paprika powder
*  1 tbsp curry powder
*  pinch of salt 

Direction:

1. In a bowl combine all the spices (garlic powder, paprika, curry and salt). Toss the cubed chicken breast and coat all the pieces piece.
2. In a skillet, heat the olive oil, add sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes to create the caramel. Add spiced chicken and cook everything together for 6-7 minutes making sure that all the pieces of chicken are coated with caramel (you can add some water in necessary).
3. Add thinly sliced onions and soy sauce and cook for 3-4 more minutes. 
4. Serve it with white or brown rice.

   Sweet, spicy, and a little bit exotic. The caramel and soy sauce gives it a nice and rich brown color. Smoky paprika and curry give it a kick and an exotic flavor. It definitely brings back the memories of our favorite comfort restaurant. 

Enjoy,
Magda