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Ginger Fish-Sauce Chicken with a Glossy Braise

By NicklausWritten

Boneless chicken thighs browned and briefly braised with ginger, fish sauce and sugar, then uncovered until the sauce clings to every piece.

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Recipe

Total time
About 35 minutes
Method
Skillet braise
Difficulty
Easy
Allergens
Fish

About 4 servings with rice

Allow roughly 35 minutes. Keep raw-chicken tools separate, and cook every piece to 165°F (74°C). Fish sauce contains fish.

Equipment: Cutting board, knife, wide skillet with lid, tongs or spatula, measuring cup and food thermometer.

Ingredients

  • 680 g boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 1/2 lb), cut into 4 cm (1 1/2 inch) pieces
  • 40 g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Cut the chicken and divide the ginger

    Cut the chicken into similar pieces and the ginger into thin matchsticks. Divide the ginger in half. Stir the fish sauce and sugar with 120 ml (1/2 cup) water until the sugar begins to dissolve. Wash hands and keep raw-chicken tools away from cooked food.

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  2. Brown the chicken in room to spare

    Heat the oil in the wide skillet over medium-high. Add the chicken in one uncrowded layer, working in two batches if needed. Brown for 2–3 minutes per side; it will not yet be cooked through. Return all the chicken to the skillet.

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  3. Wake up half the ginger

    Add half the ginger and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Pour in the fish-sauce mixture carefully and scrape up the browned bits from the skillet.

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  4. Braise with the lid on

    Add the remaining ginger and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 8 minutes, opening once to turn the pieces. Keep a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil.

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  5. Reduce to a gloss and check 165°F

    Uncover and return to medium heat. Turn the chicken as the liquid reduces to a light glaze, about 3–6 minutes. Check the thickest pieces with a clean thermometer; they must reach 165°F (74°C). Turn off the burner, add the black pepper and let the chicken stand for 3 minutes before serving.

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Watercolor illustration of caramel-brown boneless chicken thigh pieces with golden ginger matchsticks in a dark ceramic bowl beside rice.
Braised chicken thighs with fresh ginger and fish sauce. Serving illustration.

The ginger in this braise does not hide in the sauce. It stays in thin golden matchsticks between the chicken pieces, sharp at first and mellower after the covered simmer. A final uncovered minute turns the cooking liquid glossy.

This simplified boneless braise is adapted from Vicky Pham’s gà kho gừng, retaining chicken, ginger, fish sauce and sugar while avoiding the cleaver work and separate caramel step used for bone-in pieces.

Cut across the thickest parts

Boneless thighs are not evenly thick. Cut the broadest sections so the pieces are reasonably similar, then keep raw-chicken utensils away from the cooked food. There is no need to rinse poultry; splashing water can spread contamination around the sink.

Brown the chicken in batches if the skillet is crowded. Moisture needs a clear path to evaporate before the surface can color. The aim is not to cook each piece through at this stage, only to build a browned base for the short braise.

Ginger gets two moments in the pan

Cook half the ginger briefly in the oil before the liquid goes in. It perfumes the fat and softens into the sauce. Add the rest during the covered simmer so some strands keep their shape and a brighter ginger bite.

Fish sauce supplies the salt. Sugar balances it and helps the uncovered sauce shine, but the liquid can move from glossy to scorched quickly once the water evaporates. Reduce over moderate heat and turn the pieces often.

A thermometer decides when the chicken is ready

Check the thickest piece with a clean food thermometer. USDA sets 165°F (74°C) as the safe minimum for poultry. Color and a reduced sauce cannot make that decision on their own.

Let the chicken stand off heat for a few minutes while the sauce settles around it. Fish sauce contains fish, and ingredient lists vary by brand. Refrigerate leftovers in a shallow container within two hours, or one hour above 90°F (32°C), and reheat to 165°F (74°C).

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