Gà Kho (Vietnamese Caramelized Chicken)

Step 1

Marinade in about 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoons brown sugar for a least 1 hour. Rotate and redistribute marinade after the first 30 minutes.

Step 2

Combine for the sauce: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup fish sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup water

Step 3

Then add to the sauce 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 1 minced shallot, and 3 cloves minced garlic.

Step 4

Heat a pan on high heat, then add some vegetable oil. Add the chicken and rotate as it browns. This should only take a 1-2 minutes.

Step 5

Turn down the heat to about medium so the chicken can cook through.

Step 6

Add some of the sauce, just enough to color and kind of baste the meat as it cooks.

Step 7

You could add the rest of the sauce now too, but I find it makes more sense to cook them separately so you can control the doneness of the chicken and thickness of the sauce independently.

Step 8

Remove the chicken. Add the rest of the sauce and cook on medium high heat until it just reaches desired consistency.

Step 9

Add the sliced jalapeno and scallion to cook just slightly as the sauce finishes. If you want more bite to the jalapeno, slice it thicker and don’t let it cook too much (same with the scallion).