I’ve wanted to share this recipe for a while now, and I’ve finally got my act together to perfect it for you. This is a Vietnamese-inspired chicken that is air-fried – so much easier and healthier. I love that you can prep and leave the chicken in the air fryer to cook your rice and veggies and come back to it when it beeps! This chicken is punchy and spicy with dried chillies and fish sauce in the marinade. Super fragrant (for me, at least) when the entire kitchen fills up with the aromas of your chicken caramelising with all these umami flavours.
Ingredients
- 2 pieces of chicken thigh, deboned
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 stalks of spring onion finely sliced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
Instructions
Marinade your chicken thighs with all the above ingredients for at least one to two hours. If you can marinate your chicken overnight in the fridge, there is just so much more oomph when the flavours are given time to penetrate.
Whenever you are ready to eat, bring your chicken pieces to room temperature before you place them in the air fryer. Cook for 20 minutes at 200oC. I don’t even bother to flip my chicken over halfway, but if you like, you can do so. If you do not have an air fryer, you can pan-fry your chicken for around 3–4 minutes on each side.
Serve with steamed white rice and a side of fish sauce cabbage (recipe in sidebar) with some cucumbers to cut the spice.
On the side: Fish sauce cabbage
- 1 cup of cabbage, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 pinch of white pepper
- ½ tsp fish sauce
This has to be one of my go-to recipes for a stir-fry vegetable. It’s so simple it will take you less than five minutes! All you need to do is sauté the garlic until fragrant, then add the cabbage and fish sauce. Stir for three to four minutes, or until cabbage is slightly wilted and the fish sauce is caramelised.
This side will take your fish sauce chicken dish just one step further.
Joy Entry is a Malaysian home cook based in Lagos who is obsessed with the provocative, unapologetic flavours of South-East Asian cuisine
Instagram: @thatasianhomecook