Description
Gooey ginger chicken is what happens when you let tender chicken thighs cook in a sticky, warming ginger sauce that clings to every bite. Your dinner table gets something comforting and flavorful that feels both simple to make and special enough to serve to people who matter.
Ingredients
Scale
Proteins and Aromatics:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken cut into bite sized pieces (mix white and dark meat)
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chili pepper
Sauce and Cooking Liquids:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
Finishing and Serving:
- corn starch as needed
- 1/2 cup scallions, cut on the bias into one inch strips
- steamed white rice, to serve with the chicken
Instructions
- Gather and prepare all your ingredients – chop the shallots, mince the garlic, slice your chili pepper if using it, mince the ginger, and cut your 2 pounds of chicken into bite-sized pieces before you heat anything.
- Get your rice going so it finishes cooking around the same time as your chicken, which takes about 30 minutes total.
- Set your wok or large skillet over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, tilting the pan so the oil coats the bottom and sides evenly.
- Once the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon of shallots, 1 tablespoon of garlic, your chili pepper if you’re using it, and 3 tablespoons of ginger, stirring everything together for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Toss in your 2 pounds of chicken pieces and stir to coat them in the aromatics, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so the chicken gets seasoned throughout.
- Pour in 4 tablespoons of Vietnamese caramel sauce, 1/4 cup of chicken stock, and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.
- Let the chicken cook in this liquid for 20 to 30 minutes at a simmer until the sauce becomes thick and clings to each piece.
- If your sauce hasn’t thickened enough after 30 minutes at a simmer, mix a small amount of cornstarch with water and drizzle it into the hot liquid little by little while stirring, checking the consistency as you go.
- Once the sauce reaches the thickness you like, remove the pan from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of scallions cut into 1-inch pieces on the bias.
- Divide steamed white rice among your bowls and top each portion with the ginger chicken and its glossy sauce.
Notes
- Get all your ingredients prepped and measured before you heat the wok, so everything moves smoothly once cooking begins.
- Time your rice to finish cooking around the same moment the chicken is done, since the whole dish takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.
- Don’t skip the initial stir-fry of the aromatics-that minute of cooking ginger, garlic, and shallots builds the foundation of flavor for everything that follows.
- If your sauce seems too thin after 30 minutes of simmering, mix cornstarch with water in small batches and stir them in slowly rather than all at once, which keeps you from overshooting the thickness.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-36 minutes
- Category: Simmered Chicken
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 365 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 900 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 38 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg