CHICKEN WINGS IN VIETNAMESE CARAMEL SAUCE

SERVES 4, OR 8 AS PART OF A SHARED ASIAN BANQUET

I love Vietnamese caramel sauce. Feel free to replace the chicken with cubed pork shoulder or belly. The cooking time will be longer so you may need to add water and then allow it to evaporate during cooking. The sweetness of the caramel and the aromatic pepper is a match made in heaven.

75 g (2½ oz/¹/₃ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

4 spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced

freshly ground black pepper

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) chicken wings, tips removed and cut at the joint

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

For the sauce, place the sugar in a small heavy-based saucepan over low heat and cook, swirling the pan constantly without stirring, until golden brown. Remove from the heat immediately and leave to cool for 1 minute then stir in the fish sauce (be careful as it can splatter). Return the mixture to low heat and simmer gently for 1–2 minutes, swirling the pan constantly, or until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the spring onions and pepper and stir to combine.

Transfer the caramel sauce to a saucepan with a lid (it should be large enough to hold the chicken comfortably). Add the chicken and ginger to the sauce along with a splash of water. Stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken is tender. Check the chicken wings frequently. Skim off any excess fat.

Transfer the chicken and sauce to a serving dish and sprinkle with pepper.

Serve the chicken wings with steamed rice, stir-fried greens or an Asian-style salad, or add the wings to a banquet with a steamed fish.