How To Make Ella Risbridger’s (Not Quite) Chao Xa Ga
That’s a Vietnamese dish, by the way…
17 January 2019

All Credits: PA
“I should make clear at once that this probably has very little to do with authentic chao xa ga, a kind of Vietnamese lemongrass rice porridge (this sounds terrible in English, which is why it isn’t the title of this recipe), but it does share most of the same flavours, and some of the same techniques,” explains writer of new cookbook Midnight Chicken, Ella Risbridger.
“Of course, it is really a kind of hearty chicken soup, and an actual doctor once told me that chicken soup has real benefits. That’s why I make this: Infinitely adaptable and infinitely delicious, it seethes and bubbles and fills the house with soft steam. It’s more than the sum of its parts, it’s absurdly comforting and clean-tasting, and you feel better and more lively for having eaten it.”
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
200ml chicken stock (or 1 chicken stock pot/cube dissolved in 200ml boiling water)
2tbsp fish sauce
2tbsp grated ginger (about 6cm)
1tbsp grated garlic (about 4 cloves)
1tsp brown sugar
2tsp white pepper
2 lemongrass stalks (fresh is better, dried is fine)
2 limes
200g kale
Bunch of coriander
Bunch of spring onions
2 red bird’s eye chillies
200g jasmine rice
200g cooked and peeled prawns
