Vietnamese Skewered,Grilled Chicken

Chicken skewers are popular as a snack food selling on the streets in Vietnam. If people travel to other countries like Thailand, Singapore, or Indian, this dish is most popular to them, as well. There are many recipes to create this dish. Pork or beef are good substitutes for chicken.  However, I eat a healthy diet so chicken is my choice and the marinade that I share here is easy to prepare and is to die for. Even though there is a long list of the ingredients, most of the spices are easy to find. This dish also can be baked in the oven or grilled over a stovetop without using the skewers.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Marinade ingredients:

1 tbs chopped lemongrass

1 garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp galangal powder*

1/2 tsp coriander powder*

1/4 tsp clove powder*

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbs honey

1 tbs soy sauce

1/8 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp sugar

2 tbs olive oil

Other items:

10 skewers soaked in water for a few hours

Directions:

Wash chicken breasts and slice into strips (see photo below).

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the sliced chicken breasts to the sauce. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for few hours or overnight.

Insert skewers through the chicken slices and grill until the chicken slices are tender; turn chicken slices during grilling (about 3 minutes on each side).

Serve with Vietnamese sweet dipping sauce on the side with carrot-daikon pickles.

*Note – you can purchase galangal powder, coriander powder, and clove powder, but if you buy  coriander seeds, and clove seeds and powder them yourself to save money.