Vietnamese Caramel Chicken Sandwich

This crispy Vietnamese caramel chicken sandwich layers shatteringly crisp pan-fried chicken with a deep, mahogany fish sauce caramel, tangy pickled vegetables, and a punchy sambal aioli. Every bite hits sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and crunchy all at once.

Recipe

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Vietnamese Caramel Chicken Sandwich

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: chicken, sandwich

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Pickled vegetables

• ¾ cup julienned carrot
• ¾ cup julienned daikon
• 1 jalapeno thinly sliced into rounds
• ½ cup rice vinegar
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt

Sambal aioli

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sambal oelek
• 1 teaspoon lime juice

Chicken marinade

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs 4 thighs
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 garlic cloves grated
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Dredge

• ½ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup rice flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup cold water
• Neutral oil for pan-frying

Fish sauce caramel

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons water divided
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 garlic clove grated
• 1 Thai bird's eye chili minced (optional)

Remaining ingredients

• 4 toasted buns
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro sprigs

Instructions

• Pickle the vegetables. Combine vinegar, warm water, sugar, and salt in a jar and stir until dissolved. Add carrot, daikon, and jalapeno. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 1 week.
• Make the aioli. Whisk mayonnaise, sambal, and lime juice together until smooth. Season with salt and set aside.
• Marinate the chicken. Pound chicken to an even ½-inch thickness. Combine with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes or for up to 4 hours.
• Make the caramel sauce. Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Do not stir - swirl the pan occasionally. Cook until the sugar melts and turns a deep amber color, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Immediately and carefully add the fish sauce and 2 tablespoons water, it will bubble violently and seize. Lower the heat and stir until the caramel re-dissolves into a smooth syrup, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in lime juice, ginger, garlic, and chili. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Dredge the chicken. Whisk cornstarch, rice flour, salt, white pepper, and baking powder in a wide bowl. Drizzle in the cold water and use your fingers or a fork to mix until you have a shaggy, clumpy dredge. Press each chicken thigh firmly into the dredge, coating thoroughly on both sides. Let rest 5 minutes so the coating hydrates and adheres.
• Heat ½ inch of neutral oil in a large cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high until shimmering (about 350°F). Working in batches if needed, fry chicken 4 to 5 minutes per side until deep golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack. While the chicken is still hot, brush or drizzle caramel sauce on top.
• Assemble sandwiches. Spread sambal aioli generously on both sides of the buns. Place glazed chicken on the bottom bun, top with a heaping pile of drained pickled vegetables, and add a few cilantro sprigs. Close and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Use regular rice flour, also known as white rice flour, for the dredge. Do not use glutinous/sweet rice flour, which will make the coating gummy and chewy.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make toppings

I know the recipe for this Vietnamese caramel chicken sandwich looks daunting, but luckily, you can prepare several of the components ahead of time.

Start with the pickled vegetables and the sambal aioli. For the pickles, whisk together rice vinegar, boiling water, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves.

Then, add julienned carrot, daikon, and thinly sliced jalapeño to the brine and stash it in the refrigerator. They'll be ready to go in an hour, but they're even better after a few hours. They'll also keep for up to a week if you want to make them well in advance.

The sambal aioli comes together in about 30 seconds. Just whisk mayo, sambal oelek, and a squeeze of lime until smooth. Taste it and adjust the heat to your liking, since some sambal brands are spicier than others.

Step 2: Marinate chicken

Next, marinate the chicken. Pound the thighs to an even half-inch thickness so they cook quickly and evenly in the pan. Then, toss them with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, grated garlic, and pepper.

Thirty minutes on the counter is enough to get a good flavor in, but you can let them hang out in the refridgerator for up to four hours if you want to get ahead.

While the chicken marinates, make the fish sauce caramel. This is the heart of the sandwich and the technique that gives it its distinctive, deep, slightly bitter complexity.

Combine sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat without stirring. Just swirl the pan occasionally, until it turns a deep amber color. Watch it carefully, especially in the last minute, because it can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.

Then, very carefully add the fish sauce and the rest of the water, standing back as you do because it's going to bubble up dramatically and seize. Lower the heat and stir until the caramel melts back into a smooth, glossy syrup.

Stir in lime juice, ginger, garlic, and chili if you're using it. Set it aside while you fry the chicken.

Step 3: Dredge chicken and fry

Now for the dredge and fry. Whisk together cornstarch, rice flour, salt, pepper, and baking powder. Drizzle in cold water and use your fingers to work it into a shaggy, clumpy mixture. Try to break up any large clusters.

This batter won't look like regular fry batters; it will look clumpy and questionable. Don't worry, that's how it's supposed to be. Those craggy bits are what give the chicken texture, so don't try to smooth them out with more liquid.

Press each chicken thigh firmly into the dredge to coat both sides. Let them rest for a few minutes so the coating has time to grip.

Heat about half an inch of neutral oil in a cast-iron skillet until shimmering, around 350°F. Pan-fry the chicken in batches for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until deeply golden brown and cooked through.

Transfer the chicken to a wire rack rather than paper towels, which will steam the bottom and undo all your crispiness work.

Step 4: Assemble sandwiches

While the chicken is still hot, brush or drizzle the caramel sauce over the top. Go lightly at first, since the sauce is potent and you can always add more.

To assemble, toast your buns until golden. Spread sambal aioli generously on both the top and bottom.

Then, place a piece of glazed chicken on the bottom bun, pile on a heaping handful of well-drained pickled vegetables, and finish with a few sprigs of fresh cilantro. Close it up and eat right away, while the chicken is still hot and crispy.

The first bite of this Vietnamese caramel chicken sandwich is everything I was hoping for that night in Miami. The chicken is crackling crisp on the outside and juicy underneath. It's glazed in that sticky, sweet-savory caramel that tastes like it's been simmering for hours. Then the pickled carrots, daikon, and jalapeño cut through with bright acidity and a fresh crunch.

It's exactly the kind of sandwich that reminds me why eating out, even when you cook for a living, is one of the best forms of inspiration there is.

Make-ahead and storage tips

• Make-ahead: You can pickle the vegetables and make the sambal aioli up to 1 week in advance.
• Store: Keep the sandwich components in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

More Vietnamese-inspired recipes

Looking for more Vietnamese-inspired dishes? Try these: