Mango smoothie bubble tea and Thai Chicken with Basil

Dustin and I revisited Pho Van again on Saturday, and had a disappointing experience.  The broth was weak, with minimal flavor.  So we weren't going to risk trying the ba mau, which we have been wanting to sample.  We had a tasty dessert at Ben and Jerry's instead, which was fine, but I still had a craving for tapioca balls. So yesterday when I went shopping in the Strip, I went to Lotus Food Company and picked up some green tea flavored tapioca pearls for bubble tea. 

For dinner last night, I made Thai basil chicken, and for dessert, a mango smoothie with tapioca pearls.  I omitted the tea yesterday because I didn't have any caffeine-free options, but today I finished off the remainder of the cooked tapioca for a banana-mango green tea smoothie.

The chicken dish recipe, courtesy Food and Wine, is not very difficult to make, but very tasty.  I served it with rice stick noodles, but jasmine rice would work just fine.  The recipe is supposed to serve four people, but if you like to have seconds, and you don't have any side dishes, it's probably only enough for 2-3 people.

Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients:

1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4), cut into 1-by-2-inch pieces 

2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam) 

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon water 

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 

2 tablespoons cooking oil (I used sunflower)

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces (optional) 
1 large onion, cut into thin slices 

3 or 4 fresh red chiles, seeds and ribs removed, cut into thin slices (reduce amount if you don't like spicy food) 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 1/2 cups lightly packed thai basil leaves (don't use Italian basil, the taste is not the same)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken with the fish sauce, soy sauce, water, and sugar. In a large nonstick frying pan or a wok, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the chiles and garlic; cook, stirring, 30 seconds longer.
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade with a slotted spoon and add it to the hot pan. Add red pepper, if desired. Cook until almost done, stirring, about 3 minutes. 
3. Add the marinade and cook 30-1 minute seconds longer. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the basil. Serve topped with the remaining 1/2 cup basil. 

 

Thai chicken with basil

 Mango banana green tea smoothie with tapioca pearls

Cooked tapioca pearls

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped mango (preferably frozen)
1 banana, chopped
1/2 cup green tea
Prepared tapioca pearls
Honey, to taste

Before heading to the blender

Directions:
1. Prepare tapioca pearls according to directions on package
2. Boil water and make a cup of green tea, then let cool
3. Add mango, banana, green tea, and honey to a blender
4. Process well, add tapioca pearls, then serve!

Note: If you don't have a bubble tea straw, you will probably need to use a spoon to eat the tapioca pearls. Also, if you cooked the pearls ahead of time, they will probably dry out, so to refresh them, soak them in hot water for a couple of minutes.

The smoothie!

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