Gà kho gừng

Gà kho gừng is a Vietnamese braised dish with chicken in a glossy, savoury-sweet sauce.
Coconut water rounds out the sauce and adds extra depth without making it heavy.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 20 min
Cooking: 35–55 min
Total time: 55–75 min

Ingredients

• 800 g chicken thighs or drumsticks, preferably bone-in (skin-on is fine)
• 50–60 g fresh ginger
• 3–4 garlic cloves
• 2 shallots
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra to taste
• 1/2–1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 200–250 ml coconut water (or water)
• 1–2 tbsp neutral oil
• spring onion, sliced
• red chilli, sliced
• extra ginger cut into thin matchsticks

Preparation

• Peel the ginger. Finely chop about 30 g. Cut the rest into thin matchsticks (optionally set a small amount aside for garnish).
• Finely chop the shallots and finely chop the garlic.
• Pat the chicken dry.
• Mix the chicken with 1 tbsp fish sauce, a generous pinch of black pepper and half of the finely chopped ginger. Leave for 15–20 minutes.

Cooking

1. Heat the pan with oil
   Heat a casserole pan over a medium-high heat with 1 tbsp oil.
2. Let the sugar caramelise
   Add 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp water and let it melt and colour to a light amber.
3. Briefly fry the shallot, garlic and ginger
   Add the shallot, garlic and the remaining finely chopped ginger and fry for 30–60 seconds until fragrant.
4. Let the chicken brown well
   Place the chicken in the pan (skin-side down if it has skin) and let it brown well without rushing; turn and cook briefly on the other side.
5. Add coconut water, fish sauce and ginger
   Add 200–250 ml coconut water, 1 tbsp fish sauce and the matchstick ginger and bring to the boil.
6. Let the chicken gently simmer
   Reduce the heat and gently simmer with the lid slightly ajar: chicken thighs 30–40 min, drumsticks 40–55 min; turn occasionally.
7. Let the sauce reduce
   Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes and let the sauce reduce until syrupy and glossy.
8. Taste and adjust the seasoning
   Taste and adjust: extra fish sauce for more salt/umami, optionally a small pinch of sugar if you want it rounder, or a splash of coconut water if it gets too thick.
9. Serve with rice and garnish
   Spoon the chicken and sauce over white rice, garnish with spring onion, red chilli and a little extra ginger, and serve with a simple steamed vegetable.