Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

Charles Phan's Vietnamese chicken dish features tender bites of thigh meat coated in a sweet-savory glaze spiked with chiles and ginger for big, bold flavor.

Active Time: Total Time: Servings:

25 mins 35 mins 4

Why It Passed the Test

• It was named one of F&W's 40 best-ever recipes in 2018.

• This 35-minute recipe delivers restaurant-level flavor from pantry ingredients like fish sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar.

• Pepper, chiles, and ginger give the dish its signature sweet-heat kick.

• Served over jasmine rice, the glossy caramel glaze clings beautifully to tender chicken.

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. Working with chefs and their recipes has always been inspiring, from the most challenging dishes to the simple ones that become instant home classics. We asked Charles Phan, the late, trailblazing executive chef and owner of The Slanted Door in San Francisco, what he liked to cook at home, and he shared this take on Vietnamese caramelized black pepper chicken. It's an intensely sweet, hot, and savory dish that comes together in just over half an hour.

What is nam pla?

Fish sauce is an umami powerhouse widely used in cuisines across Southeast Asia. Made from salted and fermented fish (typically anchovies), it varies by region, each version with its own nuanced character. Nam pla is the Thai variety — darker, saltier, and more pungent than Vietnamese nuoc mam. These two styles are the most common in the U.S. and can generally be used interchangeably.

What are Thai chiles?

Thai chiles, aka bird chiles, are cultivated throughout Southeast Asia, but they're actually native to Mexico. These slender peppers range from one to four inches in length, have tapered ends, and are typically red when mature. Heat-wise, they're significantly hotter than jalapeños but not quite as hot as habaneros, registering between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville heat units.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

• Because fish sauces vary in their saltiness, Phan advised adding the fish sauce to taste.

• The Thai chiles here are halved rather than chopped, infusing their heat into the dish without actually being incorporated. Take the fiery factor down a notch by removing the seeds (carefully, with gloves if you don't want to risk transferring their spicy oils from your fingers to other body parts).

• Serve this dish with steamed jasmine rice.

Suggested pairing

An oaky, round, and ripe Napa Valley Chardonnay will balance the peppery-sweet sauce of this chicken dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

• About 1/4 cup nam pla (fish sauce; see Note)

• 1/4 cup water

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

• 2 fresh Thai chiles, halved, or dried red chiles

• 1 tablespoon organic oil, ghee, lard, or butter

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

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

• 4 cilantro sprigs

Directions

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

2. 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.