Kathy says: “This Vietnamese-inspired rice bowl encompasses the five flavours and elements of Vietnamese cuisine: sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty. The charred chicken skewers on the bed of rice, the fresh salad, the herbs and the citrus, spicy sweet and sour sauce all come together for a taste sensation.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the chicken skewers:

1⁄2 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
30g palm sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
500g chicken breast, cut into chunks

For the nuoc cham:

2 tbsp palm sugar
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 garlic clove, crushed
1–2 bird’s eye chillies, chopped

For the rice:

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1⁄2 onion, finely chopped
250g jasmine rice
1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
1 tbsp palm sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime

To serve:

30g mint, leaves picked
30g coriander, leaves picked
1 carrot, julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
2 little gem lettuces, leaves separated
2 tbsp peanuts, toasted
2 limes, cut into wedges sriracha

Method

For the chicken skewers, whisk together everything except the chicken together in a small bowl for one minute until combined and the sugar is starting to dissolve. Add the chicken chunks and stir to coat. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours. Meanwhile, soak eight long wooden skewers in water for at least an hour. Fire up the grill and allow it to become hot and fiery. Add a few chunks of chicken to each skewer and grill until the chicken is cooked through and there’s a nice char on the nuggets. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To make the nuoc cham, add three tablespoons of water and the palm sugar to a bowl and stir for 1 minute until dissolved. Add in the lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and chillies.

To cook the rice, heat the rapeseed oil in a saucepan, add the onion and soften for a few minutes, then add the rice and turmeric and cook for a further minute. Add the ginger, lemongrass and 500 ml of water, bring to simmer and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. In a separate bowl dissolve the palm sugar in the fish sauce and lime juice and pour into the rice, fluffing it up with a fork. Keep covered until ready to serve.

To serve, divide the rice between bowls, top with the chicken skewers and add the mint, coriander, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, peanuts, lime wedges, nuoc cham and some sriracha for some extra kick.

Rice & Grains by Kathy Kordalis (Ryland Peters & Small, £18.99) is out now

Rice & Grains: 3 rice bowl recipes that make the most of your store cupboard