Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken
The Slanted Door | San Fransisco
This is by far one of our favorite “Stir Fry” recipes. 1) It doesn’t get any easier- no fancy wok work required (although we do love our wok), and 2) It takes all of 15 minutes start to finish to complete (if you use a rice cooker).
Those two elements alone would have this Charles Phan recipe be a long running menu addition- but it is healthy (we add tons of extra veggies) and if you dumb down the chiles a smudge maybe your kids will learn to love Vietnamese flavors as much as ours do.
Photo / Recipe Source: Food & Wine
CARAMELIZED BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN
- ACTIVE:
- TOTAL TIME:
- SERVINGS: 4
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- About 1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
- 2 fresh Thai chiles, halved, or dried red chiles
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 cilantro sprigs
METHOD
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, water, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chiles.
- Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce mixture and the chicken and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve.
FOOD & WINE NOTES:
Because fish sauces vary in their saltiness, Phan advises adding the fish sauce to taste.
SERVE WITH
Steamed jasmine rice.
SUGGESTED PAIRING
An oaky, round and ripe Napa Valley Chardonnay will balance the pepper-sweet sauce of this chicken dish.