Restaurateur Lê Thị Ngọc Hân

Lê Thị Ngọc Hân is the owner of a restaurant called Lẩu Cá Đuối 34 (Stingray hot pot 34) in Thủ Đức City, which specialises in hot pot and seafood dishes, including stingray hot pot.

With a deep passion for cooking, Hân has many years of experience as a self-taught cook. She typically shares her cooking recipes on social media, after doing online research or coming across new ingredients to experiment with, after adding her own flavours and touches.

Ingredients:

For the hot pot

• 400g chicken
• 30g Goji berries
• 30g dried jujube fruit
• 1 Daikon radish
• 3 sticks of lemongrass
• 50g green bird’s eye chilli (amount of chilli can be adjusted to one’s liking)
• Coconut juice (from one coconut)
• A bit of oil

For the seasoning

• 2 tsps chicken bouillon
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1tbsp oyster sauce
• 2tsps soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• Dried shallots
• Garlic (minced)

Pairings

• Egg noodles (can be substituted with rice noodles or instant ramen)
• Vegetables of choice: bok choy, crown daisy, or napa cabbage

Preparation:

- Cut the chicken slightly bigger than bite-size.

- Grind 3 to 5 chillis and dried shallots with a bit of chicken bouillon.

- Put the chicken into the mixture, then add oyster sauce and soy sauce.

- Mix thoroughly and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

- If you use an air fryer, slightly roast the chicken at 190 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, then flip and roast for another 10 minutes. Otherwise, slightly pan-fry the chicken until they are golden on both sides.

- Wash the greens, Goji berries and jujube, and leave to dry.

- Slightly smash the lemongrass and cut into shorter sticks.

- Heat about 1tbsp of oil in a pot, add in the garlic and lemongrass.

- When both are golden, add in the chicken, radish, goji berries, jujube, bird’s eye chilli, coconut water and plain water.

- Season with salt, fish sauce, and chicken bouillon to taste.

- When everything comes to a boil, the hot pot is ready.

Serving:

- The hot pot can be paired with any noodles and vegetables of choice. VNS