Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken
Chicken thighs simmer in coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce and rice vinegar until coated in a sweet-savoury glaze. Serve with rice.
By Cookin' Kitchen
- Total: 1 hour
- Servings: 4 servings
Recipe
Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken
Chicken thighs simmer in coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce and rice vinegar until coated in a sweet-savoury glaze. Serve with rice.
Cookin' · https://cookin.club/recipes/vietnamese-coconut-caramel-chicken
- Prep
- 5 minutes
- Cook
- 55 minutes
- Total
- 1 hour
- Servings
- 4
Ingredients
For 4 servings
Garnishes (optional)
Instructions
Step 1: Put the sugar and water in a skillet over medium heat. Stir. When the mixture bubbles and the sugar has melted and looks like caramel, add the remaining ingredients except the chicken and garnishes.
Step 2: Stir, then place the chicken in the skillet skin-side down.
Step 3: Adjust the heat to maintain an energetic simmer—not a rapid boil or a slow simmer. Use medium-high heat on a weak stove or medium heat on a strong stove.
Step 4: After 25 minutes, turn the chicken.
Step 5: After another 25 minutes, the fat should separate from the sauce and turn pale brown.
Step 6: Turn the chicken skin-side down. Move it around so the sauce does not catch on the bottom of the skillet and the skin browns.
Step 7: Once the sauce and skin are brown, remove the skillet from the heat.
Step 8: Place the chicken on serving plates and spoon over a little sauce; the chicken is infused with flavour and the sauce is strong.
Step 9: Garnish with the shallot and chilli, if using. Serve with rice.
Notes
Ingredient and serving notes
Bone-in, skin-on thighs are the preferred cut. For skinless, boneless thighs, cut them in half and take them out after 35–40 minutes, when tender but before they fall apart. When the fat has separated from the sauce and it is starting to brown, return the chicken to brown and coat it in the sauce. The chicken will not brown quite as much as skin-on thighs.
Full-fat coconut milk can be used instead of low-fat coconut milk.
For a lower-sodium option, the fish sauce can be replaced with low-sodium soy sauce.
The eschallot can be replaced with 1/4 normal onion, finely chopped.
The recipe notes offer a breast variation: pound the breast to 2 cm / 4/5 inch thick and cook each side for 4 minutes in the braising liquid. Remove it while the liquid reduces and the fat separates, then return it briefly to brown each side.
Some fat separates from the sauce; spoon the sauce sparingly over the chicken, or drain off the separated fat.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 555 kcal
Estimated values; they will vary with the exact ingredients and brands you use.
About this recipe
Chicken thighs simmer in coconut milk with brown sugar, fish sauce, rice vinegar and aromatics. As the liquid reduces, it turns into a sweet-savoury glaze.
Serve the richly flavoured chicken with plain white rice; jasmine rice is a fitting choice. Add the sliced shallot and red chilli as a garnish if using.
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