{{ :recipes:vietnamese-style_caramel_chicken_with_broccoli.jpg?direct&200|}} ====== Vietnamese-Style Caramel Chicken w/Broccoli ====== /* Description */ **Why This Recipe Works:** Traditional Vietnamese-style caramel chicken promises a dish that balances a bittersweet caramel with salty and spicy flavors, but most recipes miss the mark. Cooking the caramel until it was a deep, dark color was key to achieving the right complex bittersweetness, while fish sauce (in a 1:4 ratio of fish sauce to caramel) lent the traditional balancing salty component. A combination of ginger and black pepper provided the right amount of heat. Cutting the boneless, skinless chicken thighs in half, rather than into smaller bits as called for in many of the recipes we found, gave the chicken more time to absorb the sauce, while a quick soak in a baking soda–water bath helped the chicken stay juicy over a longer cooking time that turned the meat ultratender. To complete the meal, we steamed broccoli to serve alongside. {(rater>id=100|name=recipes:vietnamese-style_caramel_chicken_with_broccoli|type=rate|headline=off)} |**Preheat:** °|**Yield:** 4-6 servings|| |**Prep:** 0:00|**Wait:** 0:00|**Cook:** 0:00| ====== Ingredients ====== * 1 tablespoon baking soda * 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and halved crosswise * 7 tablespoons sugar * 1/4 cup fish sauce * 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger * 1 pound broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick * 2 teaspoons cornstarch * 1/2 teaspoon pepper * 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems ====== Directions ====== - Combine baking soda and 1 1/4 cups cold water in large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Rinse chicken in cold water and drain well. - Meanwhile, combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to turn golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, gently swirling saucepan, until sugar turns color of molasses and registers between 390 and 400 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes longer. (Caramel will produce some smoke during last 1 to 2 minutes of cooking.) Immediately remove saucepan from heat and carefully pour in 3/4 cup hot water (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously). When bubbling has subsided, return saucepan to medium heat and stir to dissolve caramel. - Transfer caramel to 12-inch skillet and stir in fish sauce and ginger. Add chicken and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until chicken is fork-tender and registers 205 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through simmering. Transfer chicken to serving dish and cover to keep warm. - Bring 1 inch water to boil in Dutch oven. Lower insert or steamer basket with broccoli into pot so it rests above water; cover and simmer until broccoli is just tender, 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Transfer broccoli to serving dish with chicken. - While broccoli cooks, bring sauce to boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together in small bowl, then whisk into sauce; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in pepper. Pour 1/4 cup sauce over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve, passing remaining sauce separately. ====== Notes ====== * NOTE FROM THE TEST KITCHEN: The saltiness of fish sauce can vary; we recommend Tiparos. When taking the temperature of the caramel in step 2, tilt the pan and move the thermometer back and forth to equalize hot and cool spots; also make sure to have hot water at the ready. This dish is intensely seasoned, so serve it with plenty of steamed white rice. /* Nutrition block - remove the slash-asterisk and asterisk-slash from just above and below the following block */ /* ====== Nutrition ====== |Calories (kcal): |Fat Calories (kcal): |Cholesterol (mg): |[[recipes:notes:nutrition guidelines |(Guide)]] | |Fat (g): |Saturated Fat (g): |Mono Fat (g): |Poly Fat (g): | |Protein (g): |Carbohydrates (g): |Sodium (mg): |Fiber (g): | */ {{tag>Recipes MainDish/Poultry Asian/Vietnamese AmericasTestKitchen}} /* Recipe Tags - Copy and paste tags from the list below to the tag list in the above line, replacing the "TagsNeeded" tag and separated by spaces. */ /* ---Recipe Types--- Appetizer Beverage Beverage/Cocktail Beverage/Liquor-Mixer Bread Bread/Biscuit-Roll Bread/Muffin Bread/Quickbread Brines-Marinades-Rubs Breakfast Casserole Canning-Freezing Condiment Dessert Dessert/Bar-Brownie Dessert/Cake Dessert/Cake/Frosting Dessert/Candy-Chocolate Dessert/Crisp-Buckle Dessert/Cookie Dessert/Custard-Curd Dessert/IceCream-Ice Dessert/Pie Dessert/Pie/Crust Dessert/Topping Dip-Spread Entertaining Fondue Grilling-BBQ Grilling-BBQ/BBQSauce Holiday Ingredient-Seasoning Kid-Friendly MainDish MainDish/Beef MainDish/Poultry Asian/Vietnamese AmericasTestKitchen MainDish/Pork MainDish/Seafood Pasta-Rice Pizza Roast Salad Salad/Dressing Sandwich Sauce-Gravy Sausage-Pate Side SlowCooker-Crockpot Snack Soup Stew-Braise Stir-Fry Vegetarian ---Recipe Cuisines--- American American/Cajun-Creole American/Southern American/TexMex Asian Asian/Chinese Asian/Indian Asian/Japanese Asian/Korean Asian/Thai Asian/Vietnamese AmericasTestKitchen European European/Belgian European/Czech European/Dutch European/English European/French European/German European/Greek European/Polish European/Irish European/Italian European/Portuguese European/Russian European/Scandinavian European/Spanish European/Swiss Latin Latin/Brazilian Latin/Mexican MiddleEastern MiddleEastern/Ethiopian MiddleEastern/Jewish MiddleEastern/Lebanese ---Recipe Sources--- 365Recipes 365Recipes/Grilling 365Recipes/Chicken 365Recipes/Pasta AmericasTestKitchen AmericasTestKitchen/CooksCountry AmericasTestKitchen/CooksIllustrated BetterHomesGarden BonAppetit Chowhound FineCooking FoodWine GoodEats Gourmet Jennivines MilkStreet HDawson LMaidment TMaidment AMarcos DMarcos JMarcos KMarcos JPhalen DPendergast ---Recipe Ratings--- 5★ 4★ 3★ 2★ 1★ No★ ---Recipe Alerts--- RecipeNeeded RecipeIncomplete RecipeWrong RecipeFails TagsNeeded */ ~~DISCUSSION~~