Vietnamese caramel chicken
Chicken simmered in a dark, glossy caramel with fish sauce, garlic, ginger and plenty of black pepper, salty-sweet and made for a bowl of rice.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.06 a serving
- 510 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1¼ lb chicken breasts, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 2½ tbsp fish sauce
- 1 serrano pepper, sliced (optional)
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- ¾ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 510 calories, 38 g protein, 69 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $2.06 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice and 2 cups of water in a medium and bring it over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes, then take it off the heat with the lid on.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Cut the chicken into 1½-inch pieces and wash your hands and board.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large over medium heat and cook the shallot, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes, and soft.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Add the brown sugar and for 1 to 2 minutes, until it and bubbles into a dark amber syrup.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Dark amber is the flavor, but it goes from there to burnt in seconds. Have the chicken right next to the stove.Add the chicken, fish sauce, pepper, serrano and ½ cup of water and well.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heat
uncovered 12 to 15 minutes, now and then, until the sauce is thick and sticky and the biggest piece of chicken reads 165°F.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 13 min 30 sec
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Scatter the green onions and cilantro over and serve with the rice.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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