Ga kho gung comes down to tender meat in a sauce that still smells strongly of ginger. The hard part is that chicken dries out fast over a high flame or a long braise. The ginger is split in two.
Half is minced for the marinade so it works into the meat, and half is cut into threads and fried with garlic at the start. The chicken sits in the marinade for a full 30 minutes before it meets the pot.
This batch weighs about 2.2kg, at roughly 207 calories per 100g.
Method
Rub the chicken with salt, rinse it several times, cut into bite sized pieces and drain well.
Peel the ginger, mince half and cut the rest into threads. Chop the cilantro. Mince the garlic and shallot.
Marinate the chicken with the minced shallot, the minced ginger, 3 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon MSG, 3 teaspoons seasoning powder and a little pepper. Toss well and leave for 30 minutes.
Heat the pot, add 1 tablespoon oil, and fry the ginger threads and minced garlic until fragrant.
Add the chicken and stir until the pieces firm up and turn lightly golden outside.
Pour in water to sit just level with the meat, lower the heat, and braise for 20 minutes as the liquid reduces.
Taste and adjust, turn off the stove, then scatter the cilantro on top.
Tips
An hour in the fridge, or overnight, carries the marinade deep into the meat.
For a darker sauce, lift out the ginger and garlic, cook the caramel right in the pot, then return them.
Low heat with the liquid sitting level with the meat is what keeps the chicken tender rather than dry and stringy.
Ginger cut into threads holds its aroma better than minced ginger, so save that portion for the hot oil at the start.
Scatter the cilantro the moment the stove goes off, as an early addition wilts the leaves and loses the aroma.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.