Vietnamese-Style Caramel Chicken with Broccoli

Why this recipe works:

Traditional Vietnamese-style caramel chicken promises a dish that balances a bittersweet caramel with salty and spicy flavors, but most recipes miss the mark. Cooking the caramel until it was a deep, dark color was key to achieving the right complex bittersweetness, while fish sauce (in a 1:4 ratio of fish sauce to caramel) lent the traditional balancing salty component. A combination of ginger and black pepper provided the right amount of heat. Cutting the boneless, skinless chicken thighs in half, rather than into smaller bits as called for in many of the recipes we found, gave the chicken more time to absorb the sauce, while a quick soak in a baking soda–water bath helped the chicken stay juicy over a longer cooking time that turned the meat ultratender. To complete the meal, we steamed broccoli to serve alongside.

Serves 4 to 6

The saltiness of fish sauce can vary; we recommend Tiparos. When taking the temperature of the caramel in step 2, tilt the pan and move the thermometer back and forth to equalize hot and cool spots; also make sure to have hot water at the ready. This dish is intensely seasoned, so serve it with plenty of steamed white rice.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and halved crosswise
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 pound broccoli, florets cut into 1-inch pieces, stalks peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems

Instructions

1. 
   
   1. Combine baking soda and 1 1/4 cups cold water in large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Rinse chicken in cold water and drain well.
   2. Meanwhile, combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until mixture begins to turn golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook, gently swirling saucepan, until sugar turns color of molasses and registers between 390 and 400 degrees, 4 to 6 minutes longer. (Caramel will produce some smoke during last 1 to 2 minutes of cooking.) Immediately remove saucepan from heat and carefully pour in 3/4 cup hot water (mixture will bubble and steam vigorously). When bubbling has subsided, return saucepan to medium heat and stir to dissolve caramel.
   3. Transfer caramel to 12-inch skillet and stir in fish sauce and ginger. Add chicken and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until chicken is fork-tender and registers 205 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through simmering. Transfer chicken to serving dish and cover to keep warm.
   4. Bring 1 inch water to boil in Dutch oven. Lower insert or steamer basket with broccoli into pot so it rests above water; cover and simmer until broccoli is just tender, 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Transfer broccoli to serving dish with chicken.
   5. While broccoli cooks, bring sauce to boil over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water together in small bowl, then whisk into sauce; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in pepper. Pour 1/4 cup sauce over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.
   
   
   

Technique

Science: Take Some Sweet Out of Caramel

Most of us think of caramel as a sweet sauce. But if cooked long enough, caramel will become less sweet and more complex. Here’s what happens: When table sugar is heated, a cascade of chemical reactions occurs that transforms some—and eventually all—of its single type of molecule into literally hundreds of different compounds that bring new flavors, aromas, and colors. At first these compounds are mild and buttery in flavor, and the caramel still tastes very sweet. With continued cooking, even more sugar molecules break down, and the caramel begins to taste markedly less sweet; meanwhile bitter, potent-tasting molecules also begin to form (along with those that bring a darker color). We found that cooking sugar to between 390 and 400 degrees produced a caramel with subtle sweetness and an appealingly bitter edge. Any additional cooking, though, made the caramel taste acrid and burnt.

SIMPLY SWEET (340°): Only some sucrose molecules have broken down. Color is amber, and flavor is mild and still very sweet.

BITTERSWEET (390°): More sucrose has broken down. Color is molasses-like, and flavor is less sweet and more complex.