Aw Gai Ban (Aromatic Chicken Stew)
Makes 4 generous servings
Note that the sticky rice must be soaked overnight (or up to a week ahead) before using. This is also an excellent make-ahead dish because the flavor improves with time. You might want to have the butcher cut the chicken into pieces (see ingredient list).
3 tablespoons sticky rice
1 stalk lemongrass, woody exterior leaves removed, thinly sliced (about ½ cup total)
1 large shallot, thinly sliced (about ¼ cup)
3 cloves garlic
5 Thai (birds eye) chiles, stemmed
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
½ cup canola oil
2 pounds skin-on chicken drumsticks, cut crosswise through the bone into thirds
¼ cup fish sauce (nam pla)
2 tablespoons unfiltered fish sauce (pla ra)
6 Thai apple eggplants, stemmed and quartered
½ head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 cups chopped (1½-inch) long beans
1 cup chopped (1-inch) fresh dill
Cooked white rice, for serving
1. Prepare the sticky rice.
Put the sticky rice in a bowl, add water to cover and soak overnight (or up to a week ahead). When ready to cook, drain the rice, then coarsely grind in a large mortar and pestle or molcajete. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Make the seasonings.
Combine the sliced lemongrass, sliced shallot, garlic, chiles and 1 tablespoon of the salt in the mortar; pound with the pestle until the reduced to a thick paste. Both lemongrass stalks and whole Thai chiles can be frozen; stock up when you see them. Wrap the lemongrass stalks in plastic wrap before freezing; place the chiles in a plastic freezer bag for storage. Place a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the lemongrass mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until very aromatic and beginning to soften. It should not brown; if it does, reduce the heat. “I start the aromatics cooking in a cold pan with cold oil,” Syhabout explains. “Otherwise the garlic would begin to burn immediately upon hitting the pan.”
2. Cook the stew.
Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat with the lemongrass mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is opaque and white, about 5 minutes. Pour in water to cover the chicken by 1½ inches (about 3 cups). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stir in the two types of fish sauce, then the eggplant quarters. Cover and let simmer 15 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the cabbage and long beans. Continue cooking, uncovered, for 15 more minutes. By this point, the chicken should be tender but not falling from the bone, and the eggplant pieces should be soft and grey but still intact. Season to taste with the remaining ½ tablespoon salt (depending on the brands of fish sauce you use, you may want more or less salt). Syhabout uses two different types of fish sauce in this stew. Nam pla is the filtered amber liquid made from anchovies; he likes the Tiparos brand. Pla ra is a pungent,
unfiltered fish sauce; it’s thicker, stronger in flavor and has a muddy gray appearance. Both nam pla and pla ra are available in Asian grocery stores.
3. Thicken the stew, and serve.
Stir in the pounded rice mixture, return the stew to a boil and cook until the liquid thickens slightly. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the dill and ladle into bowls. Serve with cooked white rice alongside. The vegetables can be varied according to your taste and what’s available. “It doesn’t really matter what you use,” Syhabout says, “but add harder vegetables earlier in the cooking process and more tender vegetables later so you don’t end up withvegetable mush.”
Per serving: 535
calories,32 g protein, 31 g carbohydrates, 32 g fat (3 g saturated), 98 mg cholesterol, 1,099 mg sodium, 8 g fiber.