Caramelised chicken: Proof that white boys can cook Asian food
On tonight’s menu is an old favourite of mine from Bill Granger’s Open Kitchen ”“ caramel chicken. This dish is such a yummy gooey combination of brown sugar, dark soy and fish sauce that beautifully caramelises the red onion.
I always at least double the amount of red onion ”“ trust me, you will thank me for the advice. I’m also a little less heavy handed on the fish sauce than recommended. Never thought I’d hear myself (a self-respecting Vietnamese person) say those words, but it is actually a little too salty otherwise. Bill Granger must be some kind of hardcore fish sauce loving guy 😉
I had some left over mushrooms that Mikee bought over the weekend so I bought some green beans to go with them in a stir-fry. I found this recipe on my Epicurious app and basically followed the instructions for making the sauce mixture only. I thought the order they used for putting the ingredients in the pan was a little out of whack so I swapped it around a little. Mine went in the pan in this order:
Oil, garlic & ginger, beans, half the mixture, wait for a couple minutes, mushrooms, rest of the sauce mixture, spring onions about 1 minute before serving.
I served the dish with white rice and cucumbers to freshen the palette. Yum!
The caramel chicken recipe:
The stir-fry recipe:
Stir-Fried Tofu with Mushrooms, Sugar Snap Peas, and Green Onions
INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 12-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained, cut into 3/4-inch cubes, patted dry with paper towels
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered
8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
4 green onions, sliced on diagonal
METHOD:
Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Add tofu and stir to coat; let marinate 30 minutes. Drain, reserving marinade in small bowl. Whisk 1/4 cup water and cornstarch into marinade.
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and sauté until golden, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer tofu to plate. Add remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to skillet. Add mushrooms and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes. Add sugar snap peas; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry 30 seconds. Return tofu to skillet; drizzle reserved marinade mixture over. Stir-fry until marinade thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.
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