Vietnamese Caramel Chicken (Ga Kho)
Bittersweet caramel, fish sauce, ginger-pepper braised chicken and over rice.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
The caramel is the soul of kho - push it past amber to deep mahogany. That bitterness is what cuts the sweetness of the sugar and the salt of the fish sauce. Pull it the second it smells nutty-burnt.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 2 lbbone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- ⅓ cupgranulated sugar
- 3 tbspfish sauce
- 1 cupcoconut water
- 3 mediumshallotsthinly sliced
- 5garlic clovesminced
- 1 inchfresh gingerminced
- 1Thai chilihalved
- 1 tspfreshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tbspneutral oil
- 3scallionsthinly sliced (garnish)
- 1½ cupsjasmine ricerinsed
- ½ tspkosher salt
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 440calories
- 34gprotein
- 22gcarbs
- 22gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Rinse rice and start it cooking (1.5 cup rice and 2.25 cup water, covered, 15 min).
- Thinly slice shallots; mince garlic and ginger; halve Thai chili; slice scallions.
- Pat chicken dry - wet skin won't take color.
Make caramel
In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 2 tbsp water. Cook over medium without stirring 4-5 min until it turns deep amber - almost mahogany. Pull immediately off heat (it darkens fast) and very carefully add 1/4 cup more water - it will sputter. Whisk smooth.
6 min · hands onSear chicken
Heat oil in the pot over medium-high. Sear chicken skin-side down 5 min until deeply golden. Flip and cook 2 min. Remove to a plate.
7 min · hands onAromatics
Reduce heat to medium. Add shallots, cook 3 min until soft. Add garlic, ginger, Thai chili, and black pepper; cook 30 seconds until fragrant.
4 min · hands onBraise
Pour in the caramel, fish sauce, coconut water, and salt. Return chicken (skin-side up) to the pot, nestling into the liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 25 min, flipping the chicken once halfway. The sauce should reduce to a thick glaze.
25 min · hands offReduce and finish
Uncover and let bubble 3-5 min more until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Spoon the glaze over the chicken.
5 min · hands onServe
Pile rice in bowls, top with chicken and lots of glaze. Shower with scallions.
2 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Use drumsticks; braise 5 min longer to render. Adds about 5 minutes.
Use 4 salmon fillets; braise only 8 min total - fish cooks fast. Saves about 15 minutes.
Sear cubed tofu first 5 min until golden, then braise in caramel 10 min. Saves about 10 minutes.
Brown rice takes longer; start at the beginning of the cook. Adds about 15 minutes.
What keeps
Tastes BETTER day 2 - the caramel sauce deepens as it sits. Keeps 4 days in the fridge, freezes 2 months.
Reheat gently with a splash of water to loosen the sauce.
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