Nöôùc maøu - Caramel sauce/caramel syrup
Cook 1/2 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water in a small sauce pan over low heat and swirl the pan frequently. When the sugar turns lightly, remove from the heat, add 1 cup of water. Carefully guard against splattering. The sauce is very hot. Don't get burned. Wait for few minutes, return the sauce to the stove, and cook with low heat to dissolve all the sugar.
Cool this sauce and store in a jar in the refrigerator for future use when the recipe calls for caramel sauce.
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Ingredients

• 2 pounds of chicken (boneless skinless breast and thigh)
• 2 tablespoons of grated fresh or frozen lemon grass
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup chopped spring onion
• 3 tablespoons of caramel sauce

Preparations

• Rinse the chicken with cold water then dry with paper towels. Cut into small pieces 1-inch size.
• Marinate the chicken with lemon grass, sugar, fish sauce, black pepper and red pepper flakes for 30minutes.
• Drain the chicken but reserve the sauce. In a medium frying pan brown the chopped onion with 2 tablespoons of oil, add the marinated chicken, brown all sides. When the meat is golden brown, add the sauce and the caramel sauce. Simmer the meat until the sauce becomes syrupy.
• Serve the caramel chicken with cooked white rice and pickled vegetables.