Vietnamese caramel chicken

Trim excess fat from boneless skinless chicken thighs and cut into 1.5-inch pieces, not smaller as they shrink; toss with fish sauce and leave to marinate.

Thinly julienne the shallots, roughly chop the garlic, slice the washed unpeeled ginger into rounds and julienne it.

Melt and caramelize chopped palm sugar in a pot over medium-high heat, stirring to even out dark spots, until dark brown, burnt-looking but not black.

Off the heat, add coconut water immediately to stop the cooking; return to the heat about a minute until the seized sugar dissolves.

Turn off the heat and add fish sauce and rice vinegar. The caramel keeps in the fridge.

Saute the shallots, garlic and ginger in oil in a wok until the shallots are translucent.

Push the aromatics aside, spread the chicken in one layer, flick the aromatics on top, and leave undisturbed a few minutes to brown.

Toss together, pour in the caramel sauce and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the chicken is fork tender and the sauce has thickened.

Taste: add a splash of water if too strong, reduce a couple of minutes more if too diluted; if too sweet, add a little fish sauce and a little vinegar.

Toss in big chunks of fresh Thai chilies and green onions; finish with more green onions and a few juliennes of ginger. Serve with rice.