Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

This is my other favorite Slanted Door recipe.  It may be that the restaurant recipe is a little more complicated, in fact, I'm sure it is, but this one captures the flavors of Vietnam very well.  At our house we call this Vietnamese comfort food, and when I make it everyone remembers it and looks forward to the next time we'll have it, so it is definitely a winner.  What I love about it is that it's easy and quick, but the flavors are complex and absolutely addictive.

A couple of new ingredients to add to your list.  First is palm sugar, which is made from the syrup of the palm tree, and is available in the foreign food section of some supermarkets or you can find it at an Asian market.

In this recipe, I like to use Laxmi brand ginger paste and garlic paste because they dissolve in the sauce which makes the sauce richer and smoother.

Also, I have intermittent success finding Thai bird chiles, but have used serranos or jalapeños with good results.

CARAMELIZED BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN

1/2 cup palm sugar or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic paste or finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger paste or finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
2 fresh Thai chiles, halved
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cilantro sprigs

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, water, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chiles.

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet or wok.  Add the shallots

and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes.

Add the fish sauce mixture and the chicken

and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro and serve over rice.

Serves 4.