Caramel Chicken Thighs Mekong Style Recipe 455

CARAMEL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Whisk dark brown sugar, rice vinegar, water, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and crushed red pepper together in a bowl until sugar is completely dissolved.
• Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add chicken; cook until skin is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in 1/2 cup of the brown sugar mixture. Cook and stir until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes more.
• Pour in remaining sauce; cook until the juices run clear, 10 to 12 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Top with green onions.

ASIAN CARAMEL CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Mix brown sugar, water, fish sauce, green onion, jalapeno pepper, soy sauce, and garlic together in a bowl.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.
• Pour 1/3 brown sugar mixture into the skillet. Cook on high heat until thickened and caramelized but not blackened, about 5 minutes. Add remaining mixture; simmer until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit to thicken further, about 5 minutes.

CARAMEL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to melt, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, continuing to stir, for another 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, fish sauce and soy sauce. Bring to a low simmer and let cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Use a paper towel to thoroughly pat dry the chicken. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat until very hot. Add the oil. Place the chicken in the skillet skin-side down and let brown without moving it for about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and raise the heat to medium-high. Add the brown sugar mixture and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Return the chicken to the skillet skin-side up. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake, basting the chicken with the sauce midway through cooking, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. For extra-crispy skin, transfer the skillet to the broiler for about 2 minutes. Serve over white rice with sauce.

CARAMEL CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and cook until golden brown on each side until crisp and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
• Add garlic cloves to skillet until golden brown about 2 minutes. Transfer to the plate of chicken.
• Return pot to medium high heat and carefully pour 1/2 cup of water scraping down the browned bits. Whisk in the brown sugar until dissolved. Then cook until mixture turns a deep amber color. About 4 minutes. Carefully add vinegar and stir to dissolve.
• Add garlic, broth and soy sauce. Bring cooking liquid to a boil and whisk occasionally. This takes about 10 minutes. Be patient. The sauce will thicken and glaze the chicken beautifully.
• Once glaze is ready, turn heat to medium low and return chicken to pan until heated through. Serve over rice and garnish with scallions or green onions if desired.

CARAMEL CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and, working in 2 batches, cook until golden brown and crisp, 6-8 minutes per side; transfer to a plate. Add garlic to pot and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 2 minutes; transfer to plate with chicken. Pour off fat from pot.
• Return pot to medium-high heat and add 1/2 cup water, scraping up browned bits. Add brown sugar; stir to dissolve, then cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color, about 4 minutes. Carefully add vinegar (it may bubble up; sugar will crystallize); stir to dissolve sugar.
• Add ginger, broth, and soy sauce, then add chicken, skin side up, and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through, 20-25 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
• Bring cooking liquid to a boil and cook until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes. Return chicken to pot; turn to coat. Top with scallions and serve with rice.

VIETNAMESE-STYLE CARAMELIZED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add to the skillet; cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
• Remove and discard 3 tablespoons rendered fat from the skillet; reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, shallot and ginger and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the coconut water, fish sauce and brown sugar and stir until the sugar is melted. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens (the bubbles will begin to slow as it thickens), 4 to 5 minutes.
• Return the chicken and any collected juices to the skillet and stir to coat the chicken. Cook, reducing the heat if the sauce starts thickening too much, until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the jalapeños. Serve the chicken over the rice and top with cilantro leaves.

VIETNAMESE-STYLE CARAMEL CHICKEN WITH BROCCOLI

Steps:

• 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 the 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 forktender and registers 205 degrees, 30 -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, 4.5 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.