Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ginger Chicken (Gà Kho Gừng)

Gà Kho Gừng (Vietnamese Ginger Chicken) is a beloved dish in many Vietnamese families.

Each Viet mom has her own recipe for this caramelized chicken, but here’s my mom’s version: easy, tasty, and ready in less than 20 minutes.

What is Gà Kho Gừng?

In Vietnamese, “Gà” means chicken and “Gừng” means ginger. “Kho” can refer to braising, as in Thịt Kho Trứng (braised pork belly and eggs) or Cá Kho (caramelized fish).

It can also mean stewing, as in Bò Kho (Vietnamese beef stew) or Hủ Tiếu Bò Kho (Vietnamese beef stew with tapioca noodles).

Many people are familiar with Vietnamese cuisine through Phở, Bánh Mì, and Vietnamese coffee. However, these dishes are not typically part of our daily family meals because they take quite a lot time to prepare.

In Vietnam, people usually enjoy Bánh Mì and noodle soups like Phở, Bún Bò Huế, and Mì Quảng at street food vendors for breakfast.

A typical Vietnamese family meal includes steamed jasmine rice, a protein dish (món mặn), a light soup (canh), and stir-fried or blanched vegetables (món rau), often accompanied by dipping fish sauce and pickled vegetables such as pickled mustard greens or pickled cabbage.

With good time management, it is possible to prepare a full meal with three dishes in under 30 minutes, as my mom often does.

Gà Kho Gừng is a popular protein dish in Vietnamese family meals because it is quick to make, similar to Trứng Chiên (egg omelette) or Gà Xào Sả Ớt (spicy stir-fried lemongrass chicken).

In Vietnam, both chicken and duck are popular choices for this recipe. Personally, I prefer Vịt Kho Gừng (ginger duck) since duck is meatier and has a richer, more satisfying flavor than chicken.

Related Recipes | More Vietnamese Chicken Recipes

Ingredients

• Chicken: In Vietnam, we use bone-in chicken, but you can use boneless chicken thighs, chicken wings, or drumsticks. Avoid chicken breast, as it tends to dry out when braising.
• Aromatic Ingredients: Ginger and shallots.
• Marinade: Fish sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, sriracha (optional)
• Vietnamese Caramel Sauce (Nước Màu): Optional.
• Cooking oil.
• Garnish (Optional): Scallion and chili.

Instructions

• Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• Peel and cut the ginger into thin strips. Peel and mince the shallots.
• Marinate the chicken with fish sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, sriracha (optional), nước màu (optional), and half of the ginger and shallots. If you have time, let it rest for 15 minutes.

• In a skillet add some cooking oil and sugar. Cook on medium heat until the sugar melts and just starts to turn a light amber golden color.
• Add the remaining ginger and shallots. When the sugar turns a darker amber color and the aromatics become fragrant, add the marinated chicken.
• If you marinate the chicken with Vietnamese caramel sauce, simply sauté the ginger and shallots, skipping the sugar.
• Stir-fry the chicken until it is cooked on the outside. Add all the marinade and water (or coconut water for better flavor) to reach half the height of the chicken.
• Close the lid and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove the lid, season the chicken with more fish sauce and sugar if needed, then increase the heat to cook the chicken until the sauce thickens and creates a luscious glaze over the chicken.

• Garnish the chicken with some chopped scallions and chili slices. Serve it with hot steamed jasmine rice.

Helpful Tips

• If you’re short on time, try my microwaved Jasmine rice—a real cheat!
• More ideas for a traditional Vietnamese meal:

Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ginger Chicken (Gà Kho Gừng)

Cielle

Gà Kho Gừng (Vietnamese Ginger Chicken) is a favorite in many Vietnamese families. Each mom has her own take on this caramelized chicken, but my mom's recipe stands out for being easy, delicious, and ready in under 20 minutes.

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Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Family meal

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 chicken leg quarter (cut into bite-sized pieces) (chicken wings, drumpsticks)
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce (to you taste)
• ½ tbsp granulated sugar (to you taste)
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce (to you taste)
• 1 tsp Vietnamese Caramel Sauce (optional)
• ½ tbsp Sriracha Sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• ½ tbsp granulated sugar (to make caramel sauce)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger (peeled, cut into thin stripes)
• Finely chopped scalions (optional)
• Sliced chili (optional)

Instructions

 

• Combine the chicken with fish sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, Sriracha (optional), nước màu (optional), and half of the ginger and shallots. Allow it to marinate for 15 minutes if you have the time.
• In a skillet, combine cooking oil and sugar. Cook on medium heat until the sugar melts and starts to turn a light amber golden color.
• Quickly add the remaining ginger and shallots. When the sugar turns a darker amber color and the aromatics become fragrant, add the marinated chicken. If you marinated the chicken with Vietnamese caramel sauce, simply sauté the ginger and shallots, skipping the sugar.
• Stir-fry the chicken until it is cooked on the outside. Add all the marinade and enough water (or coconut water for better flavor) to reach half the height of the chicken.
• Close the lid and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove the lid, season the chicken with more fish sauce and sugar to your taste if needed, then increase the heat to cook the chicken until the sauce thickens and creates a luscious glaze over the chicken.
• Garnish with chopped scallions and sliced chili. Serve the chicken with steamed rice.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!