“Sweet caramel, pungent pepper, and tender chicken breasts,” how could I go wrong I pondered, as I read the recipe in Food & Wine. It didn’t look complicated and I had all the ingredients on-hand when I decided to give it a try.
The recipe is from Charles Phan of Slanted Door fame in San Francisco. It had garnered one of Food & Wine’s top best recipes and after one bite your taste buds will tell you why this is Vietnamese cooking at it’s best. The dish is intensely sweet, hot and totally tantalizing.
Ingredients
I always have a bottle of fish sauce (nam pla) in my pantry. It keeps for years and is a go-to ingredient for Vietnamese and other East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. It is made from salted anchovies or other fish that have been fermented for up to 2 years. As you can probably guess, a little goes a long way. The most popular brands are Red Boat, Thai Kitchen and Three Crabs.
Rice vinegar with its slightly sweet flavor is mellower than wine vinegar. It is sold both seasoned and plain, the only difference being a little sugar is added to the seasoned. I find it is pleasant sprinkled lightly on a dinner salad with only a drop of oil.
I discovered Tellicherry black peppercorns in a demo I was doing somewhere in the US, probably 30 years ago. I took one taste of my dish and immediately noticed a difference in the taste of the pepper. Back then it was difficult to track down Tellicherry pepper, but today it is everywhere, including Costco. The peppercorns are said to be 4 millimeters or larger in size than standard peppercorns, which, according to experts, means less heat and more robust, aromatic flavors.
Now that you’ve read this recipe, it’s time to stop pondering and go into the kitchen and make it. You’ll be glad you did.
These are the ingredients I always have on hand for quick East and Southeast Asian stir-fries.
The chicken cooks in 10 minutes in this flavorful mixture of brown sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chilies.
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla), to taste
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 or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cilantro sprigs
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, 3 tablespoons 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. Taste and add more fish sauce, if desired.
Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
