Vietnamese "Kabobs"

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These "kabobs" are so versatile and can be made ahead of time for a quick and healthy weeknight meal. I have even made these for multiple Tahoe ski trips with friends, where I made the kabobs at home the night before, and packed them in Ziplock bags in a cooler before heading up to the mountains.

Warm these kabobs up in the microwave and served them surrounded by an array of fresh green leaf lettuce, cooked cold rice noodles, and fresh herbs (such as mint and thai basil). And everyone can dig in by constructing their own lettuce wraps! Alternatively, you can just serve the kabobs as is with a dipping sauce for appetizers, or serve it with some rice as a main dish.

If you can’t find ground chicken, you can use a 1:1 mixture of ground pork and ground beef, but be forewarned that the color of the kabobs will not be very appetizing. (The first time I made them with pork/beef, they looked like little brown turds, so I switched the protein to chicken...)


Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 lbs ground chicken
  • 2 slices white bread cut into fine cubes
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small yellow or red onion grated
  • 1 egg
  • 3 T finely minced lemongrass
  • 2 T honey
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 t fish sauce
  • ½ t salt
  • 1 t May Ploy Thai red curry paste (optional)
  • Sweet Chili Sauce (optional)

Procedures:

  1.  Mix all the above ingredients together really well (at least 10 min of mixing time). You should have a nice paste by this time.
  2. Form into oblong ovals, approximately 2 to 3 inches long. Paste will be a bit sticky.
  3. Bake at 400 degrees on a greased pan (lined with foil for easy clean up) for 10-12 minutes and then broil on high for 6-8 minutes, turning the tray at the halfway mark, to brown.
  4. Serve as is with a dipping sauce if you want it as an appetizer, or put them in lettuce wraps with fresh herbs and cooked rice noodles topped with dipping sauces if you want a more substantial meal.
  5. Dipping Sauce: Commercially available sweet chili sauce (I like the Mae Ploy or Dragonfly Brand of Sweet Chili Sauce). Alternatively, you can use the peanut dipping sauce from the basil mushroom chicken recipe here.