Learning Vietnam

Are you in a mid-season slump for Sunday Football snacks? Have you already made more flavors of wings than Buffalo Wild Wings has on their menu? It’s time you tried a new bird for Sunday football.

Quail has never been one of my go-to proteins, but after making this easy appetizer or snack I’ll be sure to put it in the rotation. The international market has frozen quail for a good price, but  I had a coupon to my local butcher and picked up a tray of frozen Georgia quail they had in the freezer.

These are best marinated over night, but I was able to keep the birds in this easy marinade for four hours before they hit the grill, and they were still extremely flavorful.

Chim Cut Chien Don – Crispy Spiced Quail

• 1 tbs dark soy (Maggi)
• 1 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tbs sesame oil
• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 tsp Five Spice
• 1 tsp fresh minced ginger (or ground)
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 2/3 cup water

Mix all of the ingredients and pour in to a plastic bag with the quail, massaging into the birds and tossing well to get the seasoning in to all the nooks and crannies. Marinate for at least two hours in the refrigerator. Again, overnight is ideal.

When you’re ready, heat up the grill to medium high heat and toss on the quail. They only need 4 minutes or so per side as they’re pretty scrawny bids. They’ll get a nice grilled char that make the flavors all the better.

While the hubs was grilling, I mixed up our favorite dipping sauce, Muoi Tieu Chanh, and I finally figured out the perfect ratio.

Muoi Tieu Chanh – Lime, Salt and Pepper dipping sauce

• Juice of two limes
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 Thai chili, finely minced

For the rest of our football snacking, I used the leftover tempura batter from the Banh Tom made a few weeks earlier to fry sliced eggplant. With a little turmeric and salt this simple batter gives a nice flavor to the eggplant, fried golden brown and crispy. Dip these in a simple soy or fish sauce mixture. Try 2 tbs fish sauce, 1 tbs water and a Thai chili for some spice.

Now this is a Football spread!

Enjoy!

Tags: Appetizer, Chim Cut, Chim Cut Chien Don, Crispy Quail, dipping sauce, lime, Muoi Tieu Chanh, Quail