Sticky Honey and Fish Sauce Baked Chicken

30 mins Prep Time

1 hours 0 mins Cook Time

Written By

Vicky Tran

There is nothing more simple or comforting than beautifully baked chicken. This recipe is a riff off of Luke Nguyen’s marinade for his Grilled Pork Banh Mi. Taking classic Vietnamese flavouring pillar, fish sauce, and allowing it to do the heavy lifting with help from some simple aromatics like garlic and scallions. The main flavour profiles are an ode to the classic Vietnamese style of braising, otherwise known as “kho”, which sees meats and seafood braised with fish sauce and either a homemade caramel or even coconut juice until tender. With less ingredients than you can count on two hands, it's a true testament to how easily umami can develop with the right players involved. The result is sticky, caramel-coloured and unctuous chicken waiting to be paired with freshly steamed rice.

Note: it is important that the roasting pan used is just large enough to fit the chicken pieces and shallots, too much space and the bottom will burn too quickly.

Ingredients

Sticky Honey and Fish Sauce Baked Chicken

4 whole chicken legs, approximately 3 ½ -4 pounds total
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 bunch scallions, sliced
12 cloves garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon black pepper
6 whole shallots, peeled and halved if large

Directions

Sticky Honey and Fish Sauce Baked Chicken

6 Steps

Step 1

Split the chicken legs and separate into drumsticks and thighs, trimming off excess fat from the thigh portion if necessary.
Step 2

Place the fish sauce, honey, brown sugar, scallions, garlic and black pepper in a blender and puree until smooth. Combine the chicken pieces with the shallots and coat evenly with the marinade. Allow to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 12 and up to 24 hours.
Step 3

Prior to cooking, remove the chicken from the fridge and let it stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Using tongs carefully remove the chicken and shallot pieces from the marinade but do not discard. Place the chicken and shallots into an appropriately sized baking or roasting tray, note that if there is too much negative space the bottom of the tray will burn too quickly when cooking. The chicken and shallots should fit snugly but barely be touching one another. Wrap the tray very well with aluminium and bake in a preheated 375°F for 30 minutes.
Step 4

Strain off the reserved marinade into a small pot and discard any pulp. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.
Step 5

Once the chicken has been baking for 30 minutes, remove the aluminium foil. Pour the simmered marinade over the chicken pieces and continue baking for another 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked through. During this final uncovered baking, baste the chicken pieces with the juices in the roasting pan every 10 minutes or so. If chicken does not get browned enough, baste and broil for a few minutes at the very end until desired colour is achieved.
Step 6

Top with additional sliced scallions and serve with steamed rice.