This is a good weekday dish since it can be made in about the length of time it takes for a pot of rice to cook.  This is adapted from Nini Nguyen’s cookbook Dac Biet and will serve 4 with rice and Grandma’s Pickled Cabbage.

¼ cup sugar

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces

1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 Tbs. grated ginger

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbs. fish sauce

1 Tbs. corn starch with 1 Tbs. water (optional)

2 Tbs. Thai sweet chili sauce (optional)

Have everything prepped before starting cooking.

Put in a medium saucepan the sugar and vegetable oil, and mix them.  Turn the heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar has a deep brown color, about 4 minutes.  Do not let it burn.

Add the chicken and onion and stir well.  Turn the heat down to medium.

Add the ginger, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and fish sauce.  Stir well, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes until the chicken is tender.

If the sauce appears thin, add the cornstarch and water to thicken it.  Taste the sauce and if it is not sweet enough to balance the other flavors add some optional Thai sweet chili sauce.