Social Foodie Networking & Easy Cooking - Vietnamese Caramelised Spicy Chicken

People either love Facebook or hate it. I come under the first category for a number of reasons - it's a great way to connect with my family and friends that don't live around the corner, I can see photos of what my family are getting up to (I can't spend evry minute with them). But probably one of my biggest reasons for liking Facebook is the foodie inspiration it gives me. I constantly "like" new foodie pages and groups. I recently liked a page called Foodies Like Us who regularly share foodie blogposts and photos from around the world. Last week I came across a simple chicken dish, Ga Kho- Vietnamese Caramelized Spicy Chicken, that looked appetising on the page and simple to make. The recipe is from Girl Cooks World here and even if you don't cook this recipe, go to her blog to check out her travel stories, recipes and fantastic food photography.

What you will need (note that I have adapted this recipe to suit my tastes and produce available to me at the time I made it, for the original recipe visit here):
680g Chicken Breasts, cut into cubes
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
4 Cloves Garlic, crushed
Fresh Ginger, grated (about a 1 inch piece)
2-3 small White Onions, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Chilli Flakes
3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon White Sugar

½  teaspoon Black Pepper

¼ Cup Water

6 Shallots, sliced on the diagonal into approx 2-inch lengths

Ingredients

You will need to cook your rice (if serving your dish with rice) in advance because this dish cooks very quickly.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally. You don't have to cook the chicken completely because the next step is to push all the chicken to the perimeter of the pan (where it will keep cooking).  

Chicken

Add the garlic, ginger, shallots and chilli flakes. Cook until softened.

Garlic, Gingerm Shallots added to the chicken

Combine the fish sauce, both sugars and black pepper in a small bowl and stir to mix.

Fish sauce mixture

Toss the chicken and garlic mixture and then pour in the fish sauce mixture and stir to coat.  Bring to a boil for a minute or two and then add the water. 

Fish sauce mixture in + water added

Adjust heat to a low simmer and then let the chicken cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and the chicken is cooked through. 

Sauce simmering

Add the green onions. Remove from heat and serve with rice. Serves four to six.

Ga Kho Chicken with rice 

This was a great meal that barely took me anytime to make (or eat). For my tastes, I probably added a little too much chili flakes but next time I will be making it with fresh chilli.

Ga Kho Chicken with rice

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