Carmelized Black Pepper Chicken from the Slanted Door

Casey is recently back from a meeting in San Francisco, raving about the fabulous dinner the group had at the Slanted Door restaurant on the Embarcadero.  I have a fond memory of waiting for our lunch reservation there when Brittany was very pregnant with Wyatt…..she was famished and could not resist swiping a roll from the waiters station at the restaurant next door.  We heard a cheery voice call out “I saw that!” but he forgave her when she pointed to her belly and said she was starving.  The wait for lunch was worth it….when we came home I found their famous Shaking Beef recipe online and we relived the meal. This week after Casey reminded me how delicious Chef Charles Phan’s Vietnamese specialties are, I hunted up this recipe for his  intensely sweet and savory peppered chicken.  It is healthy and fairly quick and easy to prepare, with restaurant quality flavor.

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

About 1/4 cup fish sauce (nam pla)

1/4 cup water

3 Tbs. rice vinegar

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. coarsely ground pepper

2 fresh Tai chiles, halved, or dried red chiles

1 Tbs. canola oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cilantro sprigs

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

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet.  Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the fish sauce mixture and the chicken and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with the cilantro, and serve with jasmine rice.  Serves 4.

Note:Because fish sauces vary in their saltiness, Pahn advises adding the fish sauce to taste. (I found 1/4 cup about right.)  You will need to stir the chicken a few times as the sauce reduces. Thighs are perfect for this as they won’t overcook. and you can remove the fat as you cut it into pieces   I used about 1/4 tsp. of dried red pepper flakes instead of the chiles, which gave it a nice mild heat. I think additional shallots would be a good addition.