Ga kho khoai tay is an easy pick for an evening meal, mild and good with rice. Potatoes falling apart in the pot are the usual fault, and chicken cut too large ends up salty outside and bland inside.
The chicken goes in at 3 to 5cm pieces, while the potatoes only join at the end and cook until just tender as the sauce thickens. Before that, the chicken is stir fried firm for 5 minutes and only then does the boiling water go in.
This batch weighs about 1.8kg, at roughly 148 calories per 100g. It suits an evening family meal.
Method
Rinse the 1kg of chicken in water, rub it inside and out with a mixture of coarse salt, ginger and white rice wine, rinse it again, then chop into 3 to 5cm pieces.
Peel the potatoes, soak them in salted water so they do not darken, then cut them into 3 to 4cm cubes. Chop the garlic and spring onion, and cut the ginger into thick slices.
Marinate the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/3 teaspoon pepper and 1 tablespoon chili sauce, mix well and leave for 30 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a pan, fry the garlic, ginger, spring onion, 3 star anise, 4g cinnamon and 3 bay leaves until fragrant, then lift them out and set them aside.
Add the marinated chicken, turn the heat up high and stir fry steadily for 5 minutes until the meat firms up, then turn off the heat.
Add 300ml boiling water to the pot of chicken and season with 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon seasoning powder and 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend. Return the fried aromatics, lower the heat to medium, cover and braise for 10 minutes.
Add 400g potatoes, stir so they take up the sauce, and braise until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened, then turn off the heat. For a deeper color, add 1 more tablespoon chili sauce.
Tips
Chicken cut into 3 to 5cm pieces cooks evenly without falling apart.
Peeled potatoes soaked in salted water will not darken.
Sear the chicken over high heat for 5 minutes, then pour in boiling water, as cold water tightens the meat.
Potatoes added last and stirred as little as possible hold their cube shape.
Lift out the star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves once the pot smells right, as longer turns the aroma harsh.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.