You can’t go wrong with pâté spread over toasted bread for any snack or meal. Due to French colonialism from 1887 to 1954 (also known as French Indochina), many French dishes have been adopted by the Vietnamese over the years.  Vietnam has a version of pâté that is part of the famous banh mi made of ground pork and chicken liver. My mother came up with an easy recipe that is a fusion of French pâté with Vietnamese flavors. It has a nice hint of wine with a touch of soy and garlic. Be prepared to devour at least one loaf of baguette when you spread this delicious pâté on it. You can also add radish, cucumbers or any vegetables that you prefer to the spread to give it some freshness.

This recipe is rated easy and takes 30 minutes to make and a few hours to chill in the fridge. This recipe makes approximately 5 cups of pâté.

Ingredients:

2 pound of chicken liver

1 cup of milk

4 sticks of softened butter

1/3 cup of hearty red wine like a merlot

1 tablespoon of white wine

1 tablespoon Knorr chicken bouillon powder

¾ teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of Knorr liquid seasoning or soy sauce

½ tablespoon of ground annatto

½ tablespoon of ground pepper

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

5 tablespoons of minced onion

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Directions:

Combine 2 pounds of chicken liver with 1 cup of milk in a large bowl. Soak for 5 minutes and drain the liquid. Allow for excess moisture to drip out.

Remove the muscle tissue connecting the liver and cut the liver into smaller pieces.

Season the liver with:

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder,¾ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar,1 tablespoon of white wine, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of ground annatto, ½ tablespoon of ground pepper, 2 tablespoons of minced onion and ½ tablespoon of minced garlic

You will need to split the liver into three batches to cook the liver as the pan may not be big enough for one batch. For each batch:

• Heat a pan on high with 2 tablespoons of oil and brown 1 tablespoon of onion and ½ tablespoon of garlic.

• Add a third of the liver and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and repeat for batch 2 and 3.

• On the third batch, cook the liver for 2 minutes. Add the cooked liver from batch 1 and batch 2 and then add 1/3 cup of red wine. Stir to incorporate the ingredients (approximately 1 minute) and turn off the heat.

Add the cooked liver and 2-3 tablespoons of the excess liquid to the food processor and puree for 1-2 minutes.

Add 4 sticks of soften butter and blend until the butter has been incorporated into the pâté.

Strain the pâté mixture into a bowl.

Line a container with parchment paper and pour the pâté mixture into the mold.

Allow for the pâté to set for at least 8 hours in the fridge or until firm.

For more recipes, visit the EAT page or the Recipe Index

Authors: Susan Tran and Chau Hoang