Vietnamese Caramel Chicken!

Thank you Patreon members for supporting this video! / pailinskitchen
You may not think about caramel sauce as an ingredient in a savoury dish, but after seeing this sweet and savoury Vietnamese caramel chicken recipe, or ga kho, you will change your mind!
Quick, simple, and incredibly satisfying, this sweet-salty tender chicken dish can easily become your regular weeknight meal. It's also gluten-free!
WRITTEN RECIPE +: BLOG POST: hot-thai-kitchen.com/caramel-...
MY COOKBOOKS: hot-thai-kitchen.com/htk-cook...
MY KITCHEN TOOLS & INGREDIENTS: kit.co/hotthaikitchen
00:00 Intro
00:49 Prepping ingredients
02:08 Making the caramel sauce
03:42 Braising the chicken
05:20 Coconut water as braising liquid
06:27 Final adjustment
08:10 Tasting
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About Pai:
Pailin “Pai” Chongchitnant is the author of the Hot Thai Kitchen cookbook, co-host of a Canadian TV series One World Kitchen on Gusto TV, and creator and host of the KZbin channel Pailin's Kitchen.
Pai was born and raised in southern Thailand where she spent much of her "playtime" in the kitchen. She traveled to Canada to study Nutritional Sciences at the University of British Columbia, and was later trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisco.
After working in both Western and Thai professional kitchens, she decided that her passion really lies in educating and empowering others to cook at home via KZbin videos, her cookbook, and cooking classes. She currently lives in Vancouver, and goes to Thailand every year to visit her family. Visit her at hot-thai-kitchen.com

[@j.gregory5669]

advice on not peeling ginger just changed my life. Thank you!!

[@akarimyomyat4162]

My asian mom made a mistake once that she put too much sugar while cooking chicken, and almost burnt it. But after that, she tasted it and well, it tasted great so it became her unorthodoxed caramelized chicken recipe. Never would've guessed it's an originally Vietnamese dish 😅

[@PailinsKitchen]

Hahahaha, maybe that's how the dish was first invented!!

[@redwater2439]

It seems like that’s how many dishes were accidentally invented lol. A guy accidentally left his mixing spoon in his jug of punch? Popsicles. A woman mixed chocolate chips into cookie dough because she thought they would melt and become chocolate flavoured cookies? Chocolate chip cookies. A woman caramelising fruits and almost burning them? Put pie dough over the top and we have tarte tatin!

[@mrgunn2726]

I loved how you expressed the art of cooking by explaining everyone's kitchen conditions will vary and encouraging folks to taste test their food and make adjustments.

[@PailinsKitchen]

SO important!

[@tazzyhyena6369]

Pai forgetting the black pepper is peak relatability for me. I have such a cluttered brain that I will sometimes do that sort of thing

[@warrentram7602]

as a vietnamese american, any kind of quick thit kho is not the same without coco rico! i appreciate your appreciation of vietnamese cuisine

[@loati94]

I love this balance between the old format and the new format. To the point but not rushed and very well explained and holds the sense of familiarity. Also I love hearing the cooking

[@PailinsKitchen]

Thank you! We're trying to strike a good balance, I appreciate the feedback.

[@thenamesandriguel]

I love how we still get to have the cutest mini bloopers in the new format!!! Always enjoyed those in the previous one!! 😻

[@redwater2439]

It’s fine Pai! I’ve been baking for years and recently when I was making butter mochi, I was cleaning up after I put the mochi in the oven… and I saw the bowl of sugar sitting on the counter.

[@derrickellen2567]

I will definitely make this. Love the idea of making a caramel sauce with fish sauce and coconut water it reminds of a sauce we make where I am from in Appalachian where we reduce spiced apple cider to a caramel sauce and then add fresh apple juice back and use it as the sweet tangy component when making BBQ sauce.

[@occles]

Reducing spiced apple cider! That sounds awesome! I’ve gotta try it!

[@PailinsKitchen]

That sounds amazing!!

[@gregbrooks7233]

This dish looks delicious! I love Thai food because of the emphasis on multiple textures and flavors working all at once. Sweet, sour, spicy, chunky chicken, crunchy green onions, punch of fresh ginger. Yum.

[@lyphishart]

Love the editing here! we get the zoom in & zoom out effect to emphasize parts of the video. also my absolute fave, the pop up texts 🤣 this dish looks amazing, always love fork tender chicken 😋

[@vietnamemperor123461]

This dish is Vietnam we called it "gà kho gừng" which means chicken braised with ginger the shallot and garlic are just the supporting extra flavor. This dish originated from the southern part of Vietnam. We have another variation of this dish instead of ginger we used lemongrass and chili its called "gà kho xả ớt" and its taste like heaven. We eat with hot steam rice with steam vegetables in the hot summer. You are right about one point. In Vietnamese cooking most braised dish are called kho. We used coconut water to braised most of our kho dishes sometimes we don't even need to add sugar because certain region in Vietnam the coconut water are sweet that you don't need one.

[@zealiabella8553]

Hi Pai, instead of ginger, garlic and onions, you can add minced lemongrass and the dish will taste differently. I preferred it that way. I’m happy to see how much an ordinary viet dish gave you so much excitements and happiness 😄

[@PailinsKitchen]

It's a wonderful dish!

[@lng2750]

Looks delicious!!! I really appreciate all the research and explanations 😊 I can't wait to make it!

[@kngiht84]

Viet here: great recipe, Pai! Traditionally you would add some oil to the sugar, let it caramelize then add the aromatics and the chicken directly onto the caramel. Mix it all up to ensure even coating on every piece of chicken, then we go in with the coconut water, a true one pot dish.

[@TamHuynh-xj6jn]

Some Vietnamese people (my mom) make a batch of caramel sauce (no fish sauce though) and use it throughout the week/month. Caramel in oil is my quick one-time cooking medthod, but it's splashing too much, and not suitable for soft or small fish.

[@zucchinigreen]

That's how we make Trinidadian stew chicken but we marinate the chicken in our signature green seasoning (culantro, onion, garlic, pimento peppers, ginger salt etc) first. And we braise it in coconut milk instead of water. Our chicken is not sweet at all but it is very brown & flavorful. I'd be interested to try this Vietnamese variation.

[@swordchaos1181]

That is how I know it too (even though I'm not a Viet). I think Pai's method has the option to make batches with pretty much the same flavor end results.

[@PailinsKitchen]

Yes that's what I came across as the most common method. But I do it this way so 1) you can make the sauce in advance, and most importantly 2) I want to allow the chicken to have time to sear and brown.

[@kngiht84]

@@hunterl4328 let me be clear that Pai’s method was not wrong by any measure. In fact, most restaurants would do it the way she does to reduce cooking time. However, as home cooks, we prefer to caramelize our own sugar before adding in the chicken.

[@andymorcombe6537]

Thanks, Pailin - this looks great! I’ll try cooking it up for my family this week!

[@yonatan.b]

I really like this new format!

[@user-mk9nh4xu3i]

Thank you for this amazing recipe!

[@j_b_9381]

This looks amazing! I can't wait to try it.

[@ctwest3601]

I'm gonna give it a try, this looks irresistibly easy and delicious.

[@sandraannanagel3418]

Thankyou for this Great recipe 😍 This looks so delicious !

[@Kevin-xb8ex]

“Let’s get started.” Thanks for bringing it back!

[@meh-87]

Great recipe. Made it and loved it.

[@dyld921]

My grandmother used to make this dish a lot when I was growing up and it looked exactly like this! I'm so glad to see you make it here She called it "braised ginger chicken" since caramel is a default ingredient in all our braising/kho dishes.

[@paovenying5318]

V nice dish , my whole family love it

[@khangdo3611]

All Viets watching this be screaming for 7 mins “Where’s the pepperrrr?” I love how enthusiastic she is about food.

[@nazsamson5473]

You are such a sweet demonstrator dear you keep to your points and so easy to understand.

[@Foodastic]

To look these videos feels like back to school again. Just with fun. I already made it. It was so tasty and really I already had the ingredients👍🏽

[@603storm]

Definitely trying this, this week, looks very tasty. Thanks 😊

[@donnguyen2517]

Normally I don't add ginger in ga kho the addition transform it into ga kho gung. But still tasty nonetheless one tip I would add is to drop the marinated chicken into the carmelized sugar before you add the coconut water and coat it really well. ♥️

[@PailinsKitchen]

Yes, that's the more common way of doing it as I found out! I wanted a let the chicken sear and brown on its own so I chose to make the sauce separately :)

[@TheMarcusFoy]

@@PailinsKitchen yeah usually it's more sauce in here as we make (the chicken thighs are usually chops so they release more water while braising). The flavor is usually more diluted by doing this way though, but still good for rice. Also there's another variant using lemongrass and bird-eye chili as well xD

[@warrentram7602]

@@PailinsKitchen i learned from you pai to always sear and brown well my chicken and pork, but sometimes i become too ambitious and do so in recipes that traditionally dont call for it, which then completely changes the flavor profile and spoils the dish for me. just my two cents!

[@Chan_Prado]

Continuing to love your new format! Still has that great, friendly, informative style with a fresh new presentation. Hope you are having fun with the new filming style. Keep up the great work! :)

[@tjcasado]

I made this last night. I enjoyed it some more the next day on a salad with the dressing a mixture of sriracha mayo + nuoc mam sauce...ummm yum. Thank you!

[@hollish196]

Sounds great.

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the traditional recipe

[@leapingkitties]

So good and so easy. I love this with pork shoulder.

[@JeremyGabbard]

How long does that need to cook down? Or do you just simmer the sauce in already-cooked-and-shredded pork shoulder? Kenji put out a video the other day about cooking a whole pork shoulder and splitting the leftovers - this sounds like it'd be a perfect use.

[@amyjesko9434]

LOVE LOVE LOVE your show, and the dishes 😋

[@PailinsKitchen]

THANK YOU!

[@kenc2257]

I've never heard of this dish, but it looks delicious.

[@amyoung6455]

Coco Rico!! Grew up using that for kho, especially in the late seventies early eighties in the states

[@kcb_214]

Love your videos!! Thank you

[@LahvTM]

This was so good! I was going to split up my ingredients to make 2 different recipes for this dish but I made yours first and now I don't want to bother with the other one. This is the 6th recipe of yours that I've made so far and you're 6 for 6! All delicious!

[@jonjoylab1841]

Oh wow.. Excited to try this next week.. Its like mixture of our chix adobo and binakol (chix soup with coconut water) 😋

[@MLLL1234]

Looks delicious!!!

[@ardemisaguirre8088]

Love this recipes the perfect combination 👍👍😋😋🥰🌹

[@rgarlinyc]

You're such a sweetie -plus the chicken looks delicious. Ima gonna try this out soon - thanks a lot!

[@bboyExia]

I love the food lore. Be hitting close to home. Coco rico go hard

[@gcvrsa]

This is a staple in my diet, almost a universally Southeast Asian combination of flavors (I'm Filipino), but in this form, definitely Viet.

[@Reikifun]

OK - Adding to my meal plan for next week

[@johne7100]

👍 for the pepper, I do that kind of thing all the time - forgot to wash the sand out of the leeks yesterday. The recipe looks great, I'm thinking of doing it with shrimps. Thanks!

[@PailinsKitchen]

Oh no! Hope the sand didn't end up in the finished dish!! If using shrimp,, reduce the caramel sauce first and then add the shrimp after as they only take a few minutes to cook through!

[@johne7100]

@@PailinsKitchen Great, thanks! And no, the sand didn't get through. Well, only a grain or two.

[@litewavve]

Yum, must try. Enjoy the rare less than perfect episode.

[@WNKS70]

I should try this one

[@TIPSMASAKANSEHAT]

caramel chicken is so good.. i like

[@zakuradragon]

We need Pai’s cooking bloopers!!!

[@TasteKahani]

amazing recipe, wonderfully made, mouthwatering and delicious, nice sharing 😍😋👍 Big like.

[@malangpou]

This looks almost the same like ginger chicken or Gai Pad Khing in thai cuisine. I would try this for sure 😋

[@jozicagrilj9958]

Looks yumy

[@sebastianwardana1527]

it was a very good meal, if i would remember, i would miss it.

[@clairevancleave1508]

This sounds really good.

[@kevinphumai1989]

You are world class amazing chef really enjoy your cooking talent. Thank 👌

[@PailinsKitchen]

Thank you!

[@leopoldszydlowdki5416]

Palina in the morning+thai food yay!

[@Vannguyen_69]

yes your totally right about the carmelization of the sugar. Thats how its made traditionally

[@smittywerben33]

Pai is soooo cuteee!!!😂❤. Will surely make this some time soon, Thank you!!!❤.

[@CraigCruden]

I have been looking at making this, it was reading a bit more effort than your video seems to make it out to be. I will probably try this recipe sooner than later now.

[@krisyallowega5487]

What a wonderful dish to add to a buffet! I always try to have a variety of flavours when I prepare for a get together. When dishes are so similar guests don't have a chance to select their favourites. Or they may feel oh, we are going to Kris's for dinner, he's going to serve "xyz" again.

[@damiann4734]

Most southern vietnamese dishes, when it is Kho, the broth is usually coconut water. You can reduce the amount of sugar. You need skin on your chicken so it will thicken the sauce without you reducing it too much. Also, vietnamese premake caramelised sugar and leave it in the fridge. The caramelised sauce is used in a lot of vietnamese cooking. There is another recipes that dont get mentioned a lot is "ga kho tieu" or "tom kho tieu" means, chicken braised with Pepper. Same technique but with just black/white pepper. Its a strong dish, so that you only eat a little with a lot of white rice to balance the saltiness or sweetness.

[@airman8368]

It looks aroi mak mak!! I always enjoy your videos. Kob khun na kap. 🙏

[@maryjogarofoli377]

I love your videos and how you explain so much, giving me a bit of education with each dish. Can you tell me what kind of wok you used? It looks like the perfect size to add to my kitchen.

[@WNKS70]

Thanks!

[@PailinsKitchen]

Thank you so much for your support!! I really appreciate it. 🙏🏼 Just in case you haven't seen it, if you're interested in supporting the show and join our community, check out my Patreon page where supporters also get some exclusive perks and direct access to me. www.patreon.com/pailinskitchen Thanks again, and happy holidays!

[@VicBattlefield]

This looks absolutely delicious! I´ve never tried cooking Vietnamese before so this would definitely be my first go! BTW, your videos are getting more and more entertaining. If only there were a category for cooking shows at the Academy Awards: and the Oscar goes to.....guess who....😉

[@PailinsKitchen]

Thank you so much!!! I humbly accept the award ;) This is a great dish to start if you're new to Vietnamese cuisine, and then try lemongrass chicken (I have a recipe).

[@airman8368]

@@PailinsKitchen Oh yes! Your Lemongrass chicken recipe is simple and delicious!

[@jayadama1301]

Sweet with a little bit of salty!

[@MarcTelesha]

Technic I learned recently. When making a large amount chicken I cook the chicken till it just starts browning and throw it in the oven under the boiler till it Browns.

[@thomasgee1798]

Hi Pai, absolutely lovely, and the recipe is quite nice too, take good care gorgeous. 😘

[@theguynextdoor4978]

Nice recipe, looks like a perfect weeknight meal. I would probably try and hunt down unsweetened coconut water. The palm sugar adds plenty of sweetness. Oh! I noticed you upped your game with the Megachef brand. Best fish sauce and oyster sauce.

[@Monkey-oy1us]

Im Vietnamese and my Family definitely made caramel when making this dish!

[@satsatdown]

i stopped peeling ginger about 20 years ago, the skin has a lot of nutrition and its so much easier lol

[@pattra7590]

From the cover of the video, it seems like a simple dish. But I learned so many techniques from this 😅 And I’m so happy to learn that peeling ginger is not NECESSARY!! 😆 This would make my life so much easier. Thank you for a another great dish!

[@PailinsKitchen]

Glad I can save another person from peeling ginger ;)

[@salui]

Apparently keeping the ginger peels has its own nutritional properties. I have no idea what but if you're curious i'm sure you'll find out!

[@keganwallace8753]

I haven't made this with chicken yet but I make it often with riblets or fish steaks

[@mahlina1220]

I make thịt kho often, and only use coconut water for braising (so much difference in the subtle umami natural flavors- *preferably by Harmless Harvest- the only raw/fresh convenient coconut juice here in the west *w/o the preservatives- belisimo👌) In Việt Nam- they even serve the rice cooked in coconut (milk or water I forget) cooked in giant bamboo sticks. These are at higher end restaurants. Kho, besides pad sieu, are my two favorite comfort dish.❤As well as Mexican food.🥰

[@PailinsKitchen]

Yes, this has that salty-sweet flavour like pad see ew!

[@andrewharrison8398]

Don't peel ginger?? Don't peel ginger!!! Bless you Pai my life just changed :)

[@mahlina1220]

You ALSO gotta try caramelized braised catfish Pai!! if you ever get the chance to (esp in south Viet Nam). It’s served w/pineapple sweet and sour okra soup w/elephant taro green stuff cellulose veggie OMG so goood!!) ❤

[@mothaybabonnam5632]

And fish braise must be in a clay pot !

[@PailinsKitchen]

That sounds fantastic, and I think I have had it before in a restaurant!

[@AHG1347]

This new video layout looks great, and thank you for sharing this simple yet terrific recipe. I am curious to how different your version of this dish compares flavor wise to the one at the Slanted Door. Your Caramel Chicken discovery reminds me of a time when I got upset the first time I tried a Pineapple Bun thinking I would taste pieces of sweet and juicy Pineapple only to find out that there was no Pineapple in the bun.

[@PailinsKitchen]

Hahahaha, yes the pineapple bun, I was surprised too. Honestly it's been too long since I had the chicken from Slanted Door so I can't say how they compare. But they're both good :)

[@Sojournart]

Pailin, please tell me about the wooden stirrer/spatula you are using in this video, as it is not the same as the one linked to under "Kitchen Tools I Use". The one in the video is made from two pieces of wood, with the spatula end being made from a different type of wood from that of the handle. Thank you for any information you can provide, and thank you also for all the outstanding videos you produce.

[@vashishlg_]

I love her fr

[@poppy5515]

Thank you for the recipe and the caramel lesson. I will definitely make this. I'm curious about the wok! It's just exactly the size I want. My old wok [made of steel] is great but too big for storage space. Can you share what brand of wok yours is?

[@PailinsKitchen]

I don't know the brand unfortunately, but it's a Korean nonstick wok I got from an Asian supermarket, and it came in a few different sizes.

[@scsc424]

Thanks for the recipe. I will have to try this because Carmel and Fish Sauce are two words I love to hear together. I love making Caramelized Fish Sauce Chicken Wings. Btw, I noticed in the video you were using a different brand of fish sauce I've never seen you review or use before. Is it something new that you can get in Vancouver? Tell us more.

[@maimee1]

This makes me want to try any kind of savoury caramel dish. Actually I could try this but I have to go out and find the ingredients including sugar.

[@ceciliacruz7804]

😋 yummy

[@n2day2dac]

You can do a spare riblet version sans ginger. You add the black pepper at the end!

[@stsotika]

สวัสดีค่ะ คุณไพลิน วันนี้เสียงดูแปลกไปนะคะ เหมือนจะป่วย รักษาสุขภาพด้วยน้า ❤

[@PailinsKitchen]

เพิ่งหายป่วยแต่เสียงยังเพี้ยนค่า

[@schk4418]

Hello! This is similar to stewed chicken from Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. No fish sauce in ours, however, and we use alot of green seasonings especially chadon beni, or sawtooth coriander as you may know it. This looks lovely as well.

[@zucchinigreen]

It's interesting that they use coconut water to braise it and we use coconut milk. Would be good to try a variation.

[@bianchiveloce1]

This is going to be this coming's Sunday dinner for my lady friend and her family. I'm trying to impress her that I can cook just a wee little bit. I can always count on HTK for a timely recipe/technique.

[@NomenNescio99]

NO, I will never stop peeling the ginger. OCD is my way life!

[@inaala_nailo]

The person who taught me various Vietnamese dishes used a caramel sauce from the store. I’m sure that the ratio might be a little different than this one, the jar one might be a little more concentrated, but it’s a good alternative for a quick week night meal!

[@inaala_nailo]

I use the ‘Pagolac’ vietnamese caramel sauce, it’s available on Amazon in the US

[@markholm7050]

This looks like a yummy recipe. I have one caution for people who are not familiar with caramelizing sugar. Melting and caramelizing sugar is Very Hot! This is almost certainly the hottest (by quite a bit) food you will ever cook on your stovetop. You need to take some precautions. No children or curious cats around. Wear a long sleeve shirt, trousers, socks and shoes. Gloves would not be a bad idea. You really do not want molten sugar on your skin in case of a spill. Keep your work area well organized and make sure your pan is stable on the stove. When you add the liquid, keep your face back. Working as a chemist taught me that one can work safely with hazardous materials and conditions, but it takes the discipline to use sensible precautions, even when less cautious people ridicule you for doing so.

[@zucchinigreen]

Good tip and definitely no plastic spoons in the caramel.

[@PailinsKitchen]

Thank you!! And if you do get sugar on your skin, immediately douse it in cold water.

[@Pallidus_Rider]

TIP: coconut soda goes well with PR rum 🇵🇷 😲

[@PailinsKitchen]

A much better use of coco rico than in this dish, indeed.

[@peggypeyhuahoo3394]

What brand of frypan did you use for this recipe? Thanks

[@rmuong511]

Where did you get your scallop dinner plate from? Thanks

[@AdamHotThaiKitchen]

Hi Rany! She gets most of this sort of thing from either Gourmet Warehouse, Daiso, T&T or something like that. Cheers! Adam

[@FirstQube]

ทำให้ฉันหิว

[@Rani-nu8jh]

Hi Pai, not a huge fan of fish sauce. Wondering what would be a good alternative. Cheers!

[@AdamHotThaiKitchen]

Hi! Some options here hot-thai-kitchen.com/fish-sauce-101/ Cheers! Adam

[@hoascooking3520]

You can make with fish instead of chicken 👍👍

[@taimurhabib609]

Delicious dish! Thank you! I didn’t find the quantity of each ingredient though. Maybe I missed it 😳

[@AdamHotThaiKitchen]

Hi! Adam here, and all the details are in the written recipe (linked below the video). Cheers!