Vietnamese chicken rice bowls
Caramelized garlicky chicken over jasmine rice with quick-pickled carrots, cucumber, fresh herbs and a bright, punchy lime dipping sauce.
- 45 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.98 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1¼ lb chicken breasts, sliced into thin cutlets
- ¼ cup fish sauce, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- ½ cup fresh mint, leaves
- ¼ cup peanuts, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 cups water
- 3 tbsp brown sugar, divided
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
Each serving has about 530 calories, 39 g protein, 76 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $2.98 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No shredded carrots? Carrots work.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice and 2 cups of water in a medium and bring it over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes, then take it off the heat with the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the chicken with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, two-thirds of the garlic, the oil and the pepper, and wash your hands and board.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
the rest of the fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, the lime juice, the rest of the garlic, the pepper flakes and ½ cup of water in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: Taste it. It should be sour, sweet and salty all at once. Add more lime or sugar until it is.the carrots and cucumber with the vinegar and the last tablespoon of brown sugar and leave them to pickle.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Heat a large over medium-high and cook the chicken 3 to 4 minutes per side, until at the edges and the thickest part reads 165°F.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Caramelize. Caramelizing means cooking slowly until the natural sugars turn deep golden brown. It turns sharp onions soft, jammy and sweet, and it often takes 30 minutes or more.
How you’ll know: They’re soft, sticky and amber brown, and they taste sweet rather than sharp.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: The sugar in the marinade browns fast. Dark spots are good; black means turn the heat down.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Let the chicken 5 minutes, then it.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Timer: 5 min
Build bowls with rice, chicken, the pickled vegetables, mint and peanuts, and spoon the lime sauce over.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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