Slow Braised Caramel Chicken

Hello! Hope your week has been wonderful. If not, I am sending a little sunshine your way. 

Last night's dinner was at my favourite Asian restaurant in Newcastle, Little Saigon. I decided to be adventurous and order something different for a change. Little bold me decided to go for the Vietnamese Caramel Pork. It is slowly braised and had a wonderful balance of sweetness that is set off with heat from the black pepper. Wonderful!

I was ordered requested to replicate this dish at home. Since we are all out of pork at home I had to make this with chicken drumsticks. Hey, why not!

This is such an easy dish to prepare. You just need to allocate time for the braising. Your patience will be rewarded.

Recipe for Slow Braised Caramel Chicken

Serves 2-3/ Prep Time 10 minutes/ Cooking Time 1 hour
Ingredients

500gm Chicken

100gm Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Ginger (Chopped)

Zest and Juice of 1 Lime

120ml Water

50ml Fish Sauce

1 Banana Shallot (sliced thinly)

2 Tablespoons Black Pepper (where possible, get whole peppercorns and crack them for a stronger flavour)

1 Stalk Scallions (for garnishing)

Method

1. Trim off excess fat and skin from chicken.

2. Add the Brown Sugar, Ginger, Zest and Juice of the Lime and water into a pot.

3. Let the sugar melt and the ingredients combine over a gentle heat.

4. Once the sugar has melted, add in the Fish Sauce.

5. Let the mixture come to a gentle simmer then add in the Banana Shallot and Black Pepper.

6. Simmer for a further 10 minutes then add in the chicken.

7. Turn the heat down to medium low, cover the pot and simmer for another 45 minutes. Do turn your chicken over periodically and check that the mixture is not drying out.

8. Turn off heat and serve with rice. For a lower carb option, I find that it goes well on top of a bed of romaine lettuce and rocket leaves (even more peppery flavours!)