I recently experienced another depth of flavor by cooking chicken with fish sauce. At the same time, I was enamored with how easy it was to create a flavorful dish in a skillet!
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
As I started preparing to try out a mushroom recipe, I noticed a chicken recipe that it was paired with. Before, I would’ve skipped it because it needed fish sauce and I wouldn’t have purchased it just for one recipe. However, since my husband had already bought it to marinate some meat, why not go for it?
Inspiring Recipe
The recipe that I saw was Dongbei-Style Braised Chicken Thighs from Worthy Pause, a blog about food, travel, and other topics. Since Annie, the blogger, mentioned in the About page that her family eats very well, she sounded like a great resource for the recipe!
First Try
Since I already had all the ingredients at home, I was able to save on some shopping time.
Ingredients to Use
Of the ingredients, I substituted several of them with what I would normally use, as follows:
- Cooking wine instead of rice wine vinegar
- Regular instead of gluten-free soy sauce
- Fresh instead of ground ginger
- Chicken thighs on the bone with skin instead of boneless and skinless
For the optional items, I included what I had available, as follows:
- Chinese five-spice powder
- Honey
As for the Garlicky Roasted Mushrooms, I decided to make them on a different day.
Lastly, I based the measurements of the ingredients on 5 chicken thighs. Below is what I ended up using for the remaining items:
- 2 ounces + 1 tablespoon of cooking wine
- 3 1/2 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of soy sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 1/4 teaspoons of fish sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 ounces + 1 tablespoon + 1/8 teaspoon of ginger*
- 1/2 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon of honey
* According to the article on the Cultured Table website, Ground Ginger vs. Fresh Ginger Root, one teaspoon of ground ginger is equivalent to four tablespoons of fresh ginger, so I used this formula as a guide for the conversion.
Steps to Prepare
For the instructions, I followed all the steps, with browning taking 4 minutes and cooking 19 minutes. Also, I didn’t need to add extra water in Steps 4 and 6 because there was enough marinade to cover the bottom of the skillet and liquid in the sauce, respectively.
Time to Eat
After pouring the glaze over the chicken, I kept the plate warm in the oven until the family was ready to eat.
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
| # of Ingredients | Effort | $ / Serving | Try Again? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 |  | |  |
The slightly crispy skin was a nice touch to the sweet and savory flavors, dominated by the honey, five-spice powder, and fish sauce.
Second Try
For the second attempt, I just wanted to leave out most of the ginger slices when serving, so they wouldn’t be confused as meat while we were eating.
Ingredients to Use
After opening the package of chicken thighs, I found that there were 5 pieces, same as before, so I repeated the measurements that I used previously for the remaining ingredients.
Steps to Prepare
For the process, the only thing that I modified, as compared to the first attempt, was increase the cooking time to 25 minutes.
Time to Eat
I was excited to try the chicken dish without having to wait too long after it was done.
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
| # of Ingredients | Effort | $ / Serving | Try Again? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | | | |
The skin came out lightly crisped again. As for the meat, it was nice and warm, but slightly bland.
To ensure that all the flavors end up on the dish, I will do the following next time:
Continuous Improvement
- Remove all the glaze from the skillet and add it to the chicken.
By testing a new chicken recipe, I was able to add another technique to my cooking repertoire. As a result, I would like to share the following thought with my younger self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- Trying something new can bring you an outcome beyond your expectations!
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the recipe, Dongbei-Style Braised Chicken Thighs, from the blog, Worthy Pause?
- Share your favorite skillet recipe?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)
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