Vietnamese recipes: Roast chicken and crispy tofu

We are often asked to describe Vietnamese food and it is a question we always find difficult to answer. How is it even possible to define a national cuisine with the breadth and depth of Vietnamese food? We feel that the most fitting phrase to describe the common characteristics within all that diversity is "understated elegance", because as a national cuisine, Vietnamese dishes combine simplicity with sophistication and display a light touch even in the more rustic dishes; just as these recipes do.

Roast chicken

1 × 1.6kg chicken

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 red Asian shallots, roughly chopped

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp honey

½ tsp sesame oil

Rice to serve

1. Rinse the chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towel.

2. Place the garlic, shallot, star anise and cinnamon stick in a mortar and pound to a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl, then add the soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, and sesame oil and mix to combine.

3. Pour the mixture over the chicken and massage it into the skin, inside and out. Cover the chicken and refrigerate for 4-6 hours to allow the flavours to develop.

4. Preheat the oven to 220C. Place the chicken on its side in a baking dish. Transfer to the hot oven and roast for 20 minutes. Turn the bird over onto the other side and roast for a further 20 minutes.

5. Now turn the bird breast side up, and spoon over any juices from the bottom of the dish. Roast for a final 20 minutes. Check whether the chicken is cooked by inserting a bamboo skewer into the thigh – the juices should run clear. Remove the chicken from the oven and leave to rest for five minutes. Cut the chicken into pieces, using a cleaver or poultry shears. Arrange on a platter and serve.

Serves 6

Tofu pillows with crispy lemongrass

5 lemongrass stems, white part only

1 long red chilli, seeded

4 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced

500g firm tofu

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

⅓ tsp salt

1. Using a sharp knife, thinly cut the lemongrass stems, on an angle, into two-centimetre lengths. Do the same with the chilli, then mix together with the kaffir lime and set aside.

2. Cut the tofu into four-centimetre cubes and pat dry with paper towel.

3. Heat about five centimetres of oil in a wok or deep frying pan to 180C, or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Fry the tofu in batches for 2-4 minutes, until lightly golden and crisp on the outside. Remove the tofu from the oil and drain on paper towel before arranging on a platter.

4. Pour out two-thirds of the frying oil and return the wok, with the remaining oil, to the heat. Add the lemongrass and chilli mixture, stirring constantly so it colours evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with the salt.

5. Scatter the fried lemongrass, kaffir lime and chilli mixture over the tofu and serve immediately.

Serves 6

This is an edited extract from Made In Vietnam, Hardie Grant, $40.