Caramel Chicken

There are lots of reasons to make this easy dinner dish, but the most important reason is the sauce. The sauce is incredibly addicting. It's a slightly sweet, vinegary, and gingery sauce studded with golden and caramelized garlic cloves. I could (almost) drink the sauce.

This caramel chicken recipe from Bon Appetit is one of my favorites. It's easy to make– Z and I made this on a weekday night! Paired with some brown rice and a simple kale salad, it made for a delicious dinner.

I'll admit...it's pretty easy to pick up Asian-inspired takeout in a mystery brown sauce. But you're left with mystery cuts of chicken in a thick and even more mysterious sauce with MSG. Next time you are tempted to get takeout, make this Vietnamese-inspired chicken dish instead!

Caramel Chicken

From Bon Appetit Magazine

Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken legs and thighs

Kosher salt

8 garlic cloves, peeled

1/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

2 slices 1/4" thick of peeled ginger

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Heat oil in a large and wide heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt, and working in two batches, cook the chicken until golden brown and crisp, 6-8 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. 

Add garlic to the pot, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to the plate with the chicken. Pour off the fat from the pot. 

Return pot to medium-high heat and add 1/2 cup of water, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add sugar, stir to dissolve, then cook until the mixture thickens and turns dark amber in color. Carefully add the vinegar.

Add ginger, broth, soy sauce, and then chicken (skin side up) and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Make sure chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to another plate. 

Bring cooking liquid to a boil and cook until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Return chicken to pot, and toss to coat. Top with scallions and serve with rice!

Faux Pho

This post was originally supposed to be about pesto because I had a ton of basil and parmesan cheese. But then I realized making pesto would have required a trip to the store for some pine nuts. Poking around my kitchen a little bit longer, I discovered some rice noodles tucked behind my cereal, and some chicken soup in my freezer.

And that is how my faux pho came to be. With a few ingredients, you can easily elevate chicken soup into something a little more exciting and fresh. It is not necessarily the most traditional, but it will curb your pho cravings until you can make it out to your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant.

Perhaps the best thing about this meal is that is was ready in 15 minutes. Seriously! Which means you have plenty of time to unwind after a busy Monday back at the office...

Faux Pho

I used frozen homemade chicken soup, that already had carrots and chicken in it.  If you don't have any, feel free to use store-bought low-sodium broth and rotisserie chicken.  To make it vegetarian, simply sub the chicken broth and chicken for veggie broth and tofu!

Handful of rice noodles (feel free to grab as much as you want)
4 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
1/4 onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
Juice from 2 limes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Siracha

• Cover the noodles with boiling water.  Let sit for approximately 7-10 minutes.  I prefer my noodles on the chewier side, so I err on 7 minutes.  
• Drain noodles when done.

•  Combine broth and chicken in a pot, and heat over medium-high heat.  Add in chopped basil, lime juice, and onions.  Continue to cook until the soup is hot.
• Stir in soy sauce and fish sauce.

• To serve, place noodles in a bowl.  Add soup on top, and then add Siracha.