January 19, 2022

Vietnamese Caramel Chicken

Name: Vietnamese Caramel Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 4 large or 5 small chicken thighs (drumsticks can also be added) (bone in, skin on, trimmed); 1/2 cup brown sugar (loosely packed); 1 tablespoon water; 1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk (low fat is best for this recipe but full fat can also be used); 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce; 2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or cider vinegar); 2 garlic cloves (minced); 1 shallot (finely sliced); 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (white pepper can also be used); 1 scallion finely sliced or a few chives cut into long pieces; 1 red chili (finely sliced); Serve with white rice (your favorite kind)

If you are a fan of Asian dishes that run on the sweeter side like Orange or Lemon Chicken, you will love Vietnamese Caramel Chicken. The sauce is a unique combination of flavorings that come together to create a deliciously sweet, sticky sauce with amazingly tender chicken.

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Sauce Ingredients

Organize the ingredients for the sauce – brown sugar, coconut milk, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, shallot, garlic, and black pepper.

Chicken Prep

bone in, skin on chicken thighs , trimmed

Chicken thighs often have a lot of excess skin and some fat that needs to be trimmed. I use cutting shears for this yucky task. Drumsticks can also be added into the mix. See NOTES in recipe below for using other chicken parts.

Caramel Sauce

dissolve brown sugar and water in a heated pan

combine until brown sugar melts and becomes thickened

Place sugar and water in the skillet over medium heat. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to combine and when sugar is melted and bubbly(it should look like caramel) add the fish sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, shallot, black pepper and coconut milk. Stir ingredients together.

Cooking the Chicken

Add chicken to the coconut caramel sauce and cook for 25 mins, skin side down

flip chicken and cook for another 25 mins, until sauce turns deep brown

Carefully add chicken to the pan SKIN SIDE DOWN. Turn the heat up to medium-high. You want the sauce to be at a gentle boil, adjusting the heat as necessary. Cook chicken for 25 minutes, and then flip pieces to cook the bottom side for another 25 minutes. Continue cooking the chicken for an additional five minutes, flipping the pieces a few times to fully coat the chicken in the sauce and brown each side. The sauce really comes together in these last 5 minutes turning from a milky white to a golden brown. Once sauce and skin are a deep brown, remove pan from heat. Total cooking time 55 mins. (Cooking time will vary depending on the size the chicken pieces).

Vietnamese Caramel Chicken

Place chicken on a platter or individual plates, spooning over the sauce. Garnish with scallions or chives and red chili slices, if using. Serve with white rice.

Print Recipe

Vietnamese Caramel Chicken

Prep Time20

Cook Time55

Total Time1 15

Course: dinner

Cuisine: vietnamese

Keyword: chicken thighs, coconut milk, fish sauce, gluten free, rice wine vinegar, vietnamese

Servings: 2 servings

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

4 large or 5 small chicken thighs (drumsticks can also be added) bone in, skin on, trimmed
1/2 cup brown sugar loosely packed
1 tablespoon water
1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk low fat is best for this recipe but full fat can also be used
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar or cider vinegar
2 garlic cloves minced
1 shallot finely sliced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper white pepper can also be used

Garnish Options

1 scallion finely sliced or a few chives cut into long pieces
1 red chili finely sliced
Serve with white rice (your favorite kind)

Instructions

Place sugar and water in the skillet over medium heat. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to combine and when the sugar is melted and bubbly (it should look like caramel), add the fish sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, shallot, white/black pepper and coconut milk. Stir ingredients together.
Carefully add chicken to the pan SKIN SIDE DOWN.
Turn the heat up to medium-high. You want the sauce to be at a gentle boil, adjusting the heat as necessary.
Cook chicken for 25 minutes and then flip pieces to cook the bottom side for another 25 minutes. Continue cooking the chicken for an additional five minutes, flipping the pieces a few times to fully coat the chicken in the sauce. The sauce really comes together in these last 5 minutes turning from a milky white to a golden brown. Once sauce and skin are a deep brown, remove pan from heat. Total cooking time 55 mins. (Cooking time will vary depending on the size the chicken pieces).
Place chicken on a platter or individual plates, spooning over the sauce.
Garnish with scallions or chives and red chili slices, if using. Serve with white rice.

Notes

If you want to use boneless chicken breasts or skinless, boneless thighs, you can but be aware that the chicken will be cooked before the sauce is fully done so you’ll need to make the following adjustments: 1) reduce the cooking time to approx. 35-40 minutes and 2) remove the chicken from the pan and continue cooking the sauce until it is a deep golden brown.

I have not tried this recipe using bone in, skin on chicken breasts. If you want to try using bone in, skin on breasts keep in mind these pieces can be rather large, so you may need to cook the chicken for longer than 55 minutes. If this is the case, you will want to pour the sauce into a small saucepan to keep it warm while the breasts finish cooking.

The sauce transforms itself in the last 5 minutes so be patient.

Recipe from RecipeTinEats.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Vietnamese Fried Rice, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowls, and Coconut Curry Chicken with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Pine Nuts.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.