← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 900 g chicken thighs (boneless, or bone-in chopped), cut into 5 cm pieces
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, divided
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Shallot, thinly sliced
• 50 g fresh ginger (a 5 cm piece), peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp Brown sugar
• 120 ml water or coconut water
• 2 Spring onion, sliced
• 1 Bird's eye chilli, sliced (optional)

Method

1. Toss the chicken with 1 tbsp of the fish sauce, the pepper and half the garlic and shallot. Leave it while you cut the ginger.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan or clay pot over medium heat. Fry the ginger for 2 min until fragrant and golden at the edges, then add the rest of the garlic and shallot and stir for 1 minute.
3. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and stir for 1–2 minutes until it melts and bubbles into a dark amber caramel. Don’t let it smoke.
4. Add the chicken, turn the heat to high and toss to coat it in the caramel. Let it sear for 3–4 min, turning once.
5. Pour in the remaining fish sauce and the water and bring to the boil. Lower to medium and simmer uncovered for 12–15 min, stirring now and then, until the sauce has reduced to a sticky glaze and the chicken is cooked through (75°C / 165°F).
6. Taste for salt and sweetness, then scatter with spring onion and chilli. Serve with plenty of steamed rice and a plain green vegetable.

Tips

• Bone-in pieces give a richer sauce; add 10 min to the simmer.
• If the caramel turns bitter (black and smoking), start again: it will taint the whole dish.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham RecipeTin Eats Hungry Huy