Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

From the hills of Hollywood (think Nicole Richie and Ms. GOOP herself) to the stone-cold streets of New York City, this recipe is making the celebrity rounds. But it wasn’t until my stylish sister alerted me to it did I decide to put my spin on it and give it a go. I’ve tweaked the cooking method to include a simple extra step of reducing the leftover sauce. It’s a quick tip I’ve picked up from being in culinary school and it really adds an extra punch of sweet and fiery flavor.

This photograph was selected as the Image of the Day (1/11/10) by Food Porn Daily, a SFW site that’s loaded with sweet and savory food photography.

Shopping List

• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 dried red chilies, halved
• 1 Tablespoon canola oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Cilantro for garnish

Recipe

Makes 4 servings. Recipe adapted from Food&Wine.

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

Heat the canola oil in a large deep pan.

Add the shallots and cook until soft (about 3 minutes).

Add the cubed chicken pieces and the reserved sauce. Bring to a simmer over high heat.

Simmer until the chicken is fully cooked then use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked chicken from the pan.

Increase the heat and continue simmering the sauce until it has reduced by half (it should have a syrupy consistency). Add the chicken back into the pan and toss to coat.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or veggies.