Caramel Chicken, Vietnamese-style

For the first time in ages, I've actually planned out a whole week's set of dinners and bought all the stuff I need ahead of time. Usually I do it all with some just-in-time shopping, but the weather being as it is lately coupled with Chrissy taking the car means there's been way too much "what's in the pantry?" cooking. Also, this week is all-new recipes, which I've never tried before.

This was absolutely delicious, in my opinion. Chrissy really liked it, but thought it was on the sweet side. There's no easy way to reduce the sweetness, since most of the liquid cooks out anyway. You could, however, up the amount of jalapeno and fish sauce in it, or maybe put in a bit of rice vinegar to cut the sweet.

I could easily see using the same sauce technique with something like salmon or shrimp. It's a great combination of sweet, spicy, and salty, and the mint/cilantro garnish was a great finisher.

sautee:
2t garlic (minced)
2T ginger (minced)
1T shallot (minced)
1t jalapeno (minced)
set aside.

sear:
2 chicken breasts or 4 thighs (I prefer thighs)
set aside with the ginger mix.

caramelize:
1/4c sugar over medium-high heat for 7ish minutes, until it's about the color of iced tea.

mix into the caramel:
1/4c hot chicken broth
2T fish sauce

Add hot broth to the caramel. Mix thoroughly. Return the ginger mix and the chicken to the caramel sauce. Simmer for 3-4 minutes per side, until cooked.

Serve over rice, top with torn mint and cilantro leaves, pea sprouts.

Serve with Cucumber-peanut salad, a forthcoming recipe.

Adapted from a recipe Chrissy found in Cuisine at Home Magazine.