The way America is eating chicken breasts, the day of the "Franken-chicken," one big breast staggering around on toothpick legs, cannot be far off.
Also known as lap and lahb, this minced-meat salad is the national dish of Laos. Some Lao and Thai versions include fish sauce and some favor mint over cilantro, but the core of the dish remains a chopped salad of lightly spiced pork, beef, chicken, or duck brightened with fresh herbs.
My kids cannot resist these tender, juicy Asian-inspired chicken skewers. The combination of ginger, cardamom, and curry, sweetened by brown sugar, is sweet, savory, and bold! Serve them with a side of peanut coconut sauce and your taste buds will thank you.
Ingredients
For Vietnamese living abroad, a trip to Saigon would be incomplete without a visit to Ben Thanh Market, a huge maze of fresh food and sundries. Near the center is a food court where vendors hawk popular Viet treats. As you sample their wares, you are apt to strike up conversations with other gluttonous Viet kieu (Vietnamese expats). On one occasion, a man from Texas visiting his family for Tet told me part of his daily routine while in Vietnam included eating mien gá, which was so deliciously light that it allowed him to order more dishes from other vendors.