Wow, right when I posted this, I accidentally learned that this recipe is already on the blog. I’ll post it again, anyway. The photos are better with this version.
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Here’s a pretty good chicken dish that’s really easy to make. It’s based on a Food & Wine recipe.
I really wouldn’t call this “caramelized,” in the sense of traditional caramelization because the sugar is actually cooking in a liquid. Not sure how that actually “caramelizes” it. Please note in the comments if you think different.
Caramelization or not, this is a great weekday dish to serve over rice or Asian noodles.
What you’ll need
- 0.5 cups dark brown sugar, palm sugar or raw sugar
- 3 – 4T fish sauce (nam pla)
- 0.25 cups water
- 3T mirin or rice vinegar
- 1t minced garlic
- 1t ginger grated on a microplane/zester
- 0.5t ground pepper
- 1 or 2 Thai chiles, halved, lengthwise or dried red chiles (remove some of the seeds to tone down the heat, if needed)
- 1T neutral oil
- 1 shallot or half an onion thinly sliced
- 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Cilantro sprigs, as an optional garnish
What to do
Thoroughly combine the sugar, fish sauce, water, mirin/rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chiles in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a wok or large frypan and sauté the shallot until softened—about 4 minutes. Mix in the fish sauce/sugar mixture and chicken, then simmer over medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through—10 or so minutes.
Serve hot over rice or noodles.
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