Gà Kho Gù'ng (Caramelized Ginger Chicken)
I received the most wonderful, heartwarming Vietnamese cookbook-food memoir from koalathebear, and one of its recipes inspired the following.
Gà Kho Gù'ng
(from Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes From The Heart by Pauline Nguyen with recipes by Luke Nguyen & Mark Jensen)
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) chicken thighs, bone in with skin on
1 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 teaspons minced garlic
1 red chilli, sliced
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 small onion, cut into wedges
500 ml (17 fl. oz/2 cups) chicken stock
1 spring onion (scallion), finely sliced on the diagonal
1 small handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
Remove the fat and excess skin from the chicken thighs, then cut them in half across the bone. Combine the fish sauce, ginger, garlic, chilli and 1 tablespoon of sugar in a bowl. Add the thigh pieces to the bowl and mix well. Marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours. For best result, marinate the chicken overnight.
Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. then fry the chicken pieces, skin side down, for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown. turn the chicken over and seal the other side, then remove from the saucepan an drain off any excess oil from the chicken. Add the remaining sugar to the saucepan and cook until it is a light caramel color. Add the chicken back to the saucepan with the onion and marinade. Pour over the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. Turn out into a serving dish and garnish with the spring onions and coriander and serve with jasmine rice.
-MY ADAPTATION INSPIRED BY THE ABOVE-
I had only boneless, skinless chicken thighs, so I removed excess fat from 1.5 pounds and cut them into bite-sized pieces. I didn't have time to marinate so I put about 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger and about the same amount of minced fresh garlic into a wok with about a half teaspoon of hot pepper flakes and 1 and a 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. I added the chicken pieces, turned the heat on high and stir-fried for a while. I took one large leek (using only the white and pale green parts), split it in half lengthwise, and sliced half of this length coarsely to add to the chicken. Then I added two cups of liquid that was comprised of about 1 and 1/4 cups of water plus 3/4 cups of white wine into which I'd stirred 2 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon chicken stock concentrate. I simmered this in the wok for about 10-15 minutes until the chicken was cooked. Then, using a sieve in a bowl, I poured the chicken into the sieve, separating the chicken from the liquid. I added the remaining few tablespoons (I used about 4) of sugar into the wok to melt, and once it was beginning to melt, I added the chicken back in and tossed until it was well combined and sprinkled a bit of cornstarch into this. Finally, I added back the liquid, stirred for a couple minutes until it thickened a little, turned off the heat and garnished with a generous handful of chopped fresh cilantro. Served over rice.
