RECIPES FOR A DELICIOUS VIETNAMESE DINNER ON THE DOCK
Greetings! Today, as promised, I am sharing with you my son’s recipes for a delicious Vietnamese dinner on the dock. As I told you in this previous post, my DC dwelling son made a fantastic Vietnamese feast for us during his recent visit. Brad & I loved the food so much that I just couldn’t wait to make it myself.
The meal he prepared for us consisted of:
- Vietnamese Herb Salad
- Jasmine Rice
- Vietnamese Style BBQ’d Chicken
My contribution to the dockside dinner was my yummy recipe for Irresistible Apple Crisp.
In order to recapture the spirit of the evening that we had enjoyed with our son and grandchildren I decided to do a repeat performance, once again planning a dockside dinner from which to enjoy another Vietnamese style feast.
Dining is casual on the dock, but I’m able to make it attractive using the beautiful dishes and table linens I received for my birthday.
To add to the ambience this week I sewed a pillow for the dock using a table runner from Crate & Barrel that matches my placemats.
We invited dear friends, WK & Maureen to join us. You might recognize W.K from his days staring in TV shows such as Jag, Baa Baa Black Sheep & Magnum P.I. to name a few.
Cooking isn’t easy out of our small dock house so as you might imagine, I do as much advance prep work at home as I can. So the day before our dinner on the dock I made the Vietnamese marinade that would go on the meat I’d be grilling.
Vietnamese Marinade Ingredients
This marinade recipe is versatile and works for either chicken or beef. My son used it on boneless chicken thighs, so I decided this time I’d use beef flap steak, which I would marinate overnight and then BBQ down at the dock. Here’s what you’ll need to prepare this delicious marinade…
- 1/4 Cup Grated Fresh Ginger
- 1/2 Cup Fish Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
- 1/4 Cup Canola Oil
- 1/4 Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 Cloves Minced Fresh Garlic
- 3 Pounds Flap Steak or Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs
- 1/3 Cup Chopped Roasted Peanuts (For Garnish)
- Fresh Mint Leaves (For Garnish)
- 1 Fresh Lime, Sliced into Wedges (For Garnish)
- Jasmine Rice, Cooked
The process to prepare the sauce is easy. Simply place the first 7 ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk or stir to combine.
Place the meat in a large flat dish which will allow as much surface space as possible for the marinade to encounter the meat.
Pour the marinade over the chicken or meat. Cover it tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours. The marinade also acts as a tenderizer, which is great for this type of meat.
To cook, place the meat over a very hot grill and cook to desired doneness. Flap meat benefits from being cooked on high heat and is at its best when cooked not much past medium-rare.
Meanwhile, after transferring the meat to the grill, place the marinade that remains in the dish in a microwave-safe container, cover loosely and cook it on high for 2 minutes. It should be boiling hot to destroy any bacteria from the raw meat. Once the meat is cooked cut it thinly across the grain, place the meat on a serving platter and pour the cooked marinade on top. Garnish with chopped peanuts, lime wedges and mint leaves.
NOTE: While you may notice that the recipe calls for Chili Paste it is not too hot or spicy, just very flavorful. If you like a lot of heat add more Sambal Chili Paste.
Serve with Jasmine Rice (also garnished with chopped peanuts) and Vietnamese Herb Salad.
Next let’s prepare the Vietnamese Herb Salad. Here’s what you’ll need:
For The Dressing
- Juice From 2 Large Limes
- 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Cup Fish Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Grated Fresh Ginger
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
Place all the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
Pour into a jar with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to use.
For The Salad
- 2 Cups Fresh Mint Leaves (stems discarded, 1 sprig saved for garnish)
- 2 Cups Fresh Cilantro Leaves (stems discarded)
- 2 Cups Napa Cabbage, Very Thinly Sliced
- 4 Carrots, Sliced into Thin Ribbons
- 1/2 Red Bell Pepper, Very Thinly Sliced
- 6 Radishes, Very Thinly Sliced
- 3 Green Onions, Diced
- Chopped Roasted Peanuts For Garnish
Just before you are ready to serve the salad toss it with the desired amount of chilled dressing. You will not use it all. This delicious dressing makes enough for about 2 salads so you can enjoy it again another day. Garnish with chopped peanuts and a sprig of fresh mint. ENJOY!
And to complete our dinner on the dock I made a delicious Fresh Peach Pie.
Not very Vietnamese but very summery and appropriate for dining by the lake on a warm summer’s eve. I’ll be sharing my yummy recipe for Fresh Peach Pie in an upcoming post.
So now let me share with you the handy, dandy, printable recipes…
- ¼ Cup Grated Fresh Ginger
- ½ Cup Fish Sauce
- ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ Cup Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
- ¼ Cup Canola Oil
- ¼ Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 Cloves Minced Fresh Garlic
- 3 Pounds Flap Steak or Boneless/Skinless Chicken Thighs
- ⅓ Cup Chopped Roasted Peanuts (For Garnish)
- Fresh Mint Leaves (For Garnish)
- 1 Fresh Lime, Sliced into Wedges (For Garnish)
- Jasmine Rice, Cooked
- Place first 7 ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Place meat in a large flat dish which will allow as much surface space as possible for the marinade to encounter the meat.
- Pour marinade over the chicken or meat.
- Cover tightly with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
- To cook, place the meat over a very hot grill and cook to desired doneness.
- Flap meat benefits from being cooked on high heat and is at its best when cooked not much past medium-rare.
- Place marinade that remains in the dish in a microwave-safe container, cover loosely and cook on high for 2 minutes.
- Once the meat is cooked cut it thinly across the grain, place the meat on a serving platter and pour the cooked marinade on top.
- Garnish with chopped peanuts, lime wedges and mint leaves.
- Serve with Jasmine Rice (also garnished with chopped peanuts) and Vietnamese Herb Salad.
- For The Dressing
- Juice From 2 Large Limes
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ Cup Fish Sauce
- ¼ Cup Grated Fresh Ginger
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
- For The Salad
- 2 Cups Fresh Mint Leaves (stems discarded, 1 sprig saved for garnish)
- 2 Cups Fresh Cilantro Leaves (stems discarded)
- 2 Cups Napa Cabbage, Very Thinly Sliced
- 4 Carrots, Sliced into Thin Ribbons
- ½ Red Bell Pepper, Very Thinly Sliced
- 6 Radishes, Very Thinly Sliced
- 3 Green Onions, Diced
- Chopped Roasted Peanuts For Garnish
- For The Dressing
- Place all the ingredients into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Pour into a jar with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate until ready to use.
- For The Salad
- Place all of the ingredients (except the peanuts) into a salad bowl.
- Just before you are ready to serve the salad toss it with the desired amount of chilled dressing. You will not use it all.
- Garnish with chopped peanuts and a sprig of fresh mint.
- ENJOY!
Recipe Notes:
Some of the ingredients called for in these recipes are a bit exotic and you may not be familiar with them. While generally available in the International Foods section of your local grocery store, you can also order them here by clicking on the links below:
Sambal Oelek Chili Paste – A key ingredient these recipes must have. Used in moderation it adds a very mild heat to the dishes, which by the way are by no means too hot or spicy, just very flavorful.
Fish Sauce – I find that this fish sauce is milder than many and will not smell up your kitchen like other brands. It is also not too overpowering, it just gives a must-have flavor profile to Vietnamese food.
My Favorite Jasmine Rice – This is the most flavorful Jasmine rice I have ever tasted.
So there you have it: RECIPES FOR A DELICIOUS VIETNAMESE DINNER ON THE DOCK
Thanks so much for dropping in!
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