When Viet cooks serve whole chicken, they often cut it into bone-in, bite-size pieces to feed a crowd. That’s mainly because chicken is still considered a precious food, despite Vietnam’s successful economy. Pondering such thriftiness, I began roasting half-chickens, carving them off the bone so diners may enjoy a bit of light and dark meat. The halfsies roasted faster than a whole bird and, moreover, I could easily shove herbaceous seasonings between the skin and flesh. My recipe evolved over time (I use the technique on chicken legs, too), and now I douse the roasted chicken with nước chấm enriched by the roasting pan juices. The sauce penetrates the flesh to imbue extra flavor and is fabulous on rice. Making the most of the oven’s heat, I also roast broccoli. Space permitting, you can roast potatoes on a quarter-sheet pan; the timing is akin to that of the chicken.
As for the nước chấm, take the time to perfect this tangy-salty-spicy dipping sauce and you can turn practically any dish toward Vietnam! Although nước chấm literally means “dipping liquid” in Vietnamese, it’s not just for dunking. This amber condiment may be drizzled onto rice plates and spooned into rice noodle bowls. Cooks have myriad ways to make this sauce, and the best approach to personalizing it is to first make a versatile tangy base. For decades I constructed a limeade foundation, but I recently switched to an easier vinegar base accented by fresh citrus. Unfiltered apple cider vinegar has a savory note and is functionally more consistent than citrus juices, which vary in tartness and make finessing the sauce harder. Agave syrup and honey dissolve fast and yield a pleasant roundish mouthfeel, but if you don’t have either of those handy, sugar is a staple in nearly all kitchens. This recipe helps you craft your own version of nước chấm; the sauce base ingredient quantities serve as starting points for your tweaks. After you get the hang of things, you’ll be making this Viet condiment on the fly.
