Mar 04 2010
Braised & Glazed Chicken Drumsticks
Sometimes I feel a little nostalgic about my mom’s home cooking. I truly miss a lot of the meals she would prepare when I used to live at home – comforting Vietnamese food, or unique dishes she would create from various inspirations. This particular chicken recipe was something I grew up eating, and I’ve always enjoyed it time and time again. It was my first time making it, based off of a quick phone conversation with my mom about what ingredients she used – and it was my job to figure out how much to measure! What’s funny is that she calls this Ga Ro Ti, which is Vietnamese for Rotisserie Chicken. But there is no roasting or baking involved! She uses her own method by braising and caramelizing the sauce to get it sticky and sweet. I took a stab at making it on my own, and thankfully, it did come out just like hers! I’m such a happy camper. 
Oh, and I made my own name for this recipe, ha!
This requires an overnight marination (but if you're impatient, a few hours should work). I took the skin off of 10 chicken drumsticks and marinated it with 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp five spice powder, and 6 chopped garlic cloves (I love garlic, so I went overboard). Cover and let this marinate.
In a skillet over medium heat, brown all sides of the chicken for a few minutes.
The key to braising the meat is with this coconut flavored soda. I don't know what it is with Vietnamese moms, but most of them use this to braise meat! Anyway, pour 1 can of Coco soda into the pan, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, continue turning the chicken every so often to let it cook evenly.
After 20 minutes, take the cover off and turn the heat to high to let the Coco soda evaporate, which will thicken the sauce into a glaze.
That's all there is to it! The meat is moist and the glaze is sweet, which is perfect over a bed of white rice and vegetables. It's not your traditional Ga Ro Ti, but it definitely works for me! Mmm... simple, sweet, and succulent!
To view or print-out this recipe, click here: Braised & Glazed Chicken Drumsticks
I feel a bit primeval with that last shot and want to haul my carnivorous around one of those!
Yes I am taking on Asian, and part of that reason is some of your posts! Great recipe, and now I have to go find that soda!
Mmmm….yummy. They look finger-licking good!
Chef E – I should’ve mentioned that the Coco soda can be found at any Asian supermarket.
Marymoh – You’re right – they are finger-lickin’ good.
and it rhymes! very juicy looking legs there!
Hi there! I’m always open and looking for new ideas as to how else I can fix-up some good ”ol chicken. So, thanks for sharing this awesome recipe, and can’t really go wrong with what’s required in the ingredients. Yum!!
Radical! LOL Well maybe not but still different and delicious I’m sure! Sure looks good
This looks fantastic! I love the use of the coconut soda – I never would have thought of that!
Yummy! I’m going to start looking for that soda this weekend!
This sounds amazing. Coconut soda. How cool!
Hey this looks very similar to my mom’s chicken too which was mmm delicious! I wonder if it’s the same receipe (Darned if I know since I don’t cook!). Will definitely give this a try!
A very unique recipe and sounds amazing with the coconut flavored soda!
These look soooo good! There’s a big Vietnamese market not far from my house, so I’ll have to pop down there and hope they carry coconut soda… if not, I might have to give this a try using Sprite to see if it does the trick, because these drumsticks look to good to pass up just because of an ingredient issue.
Nice, thanks!
can anyone point me as to where in LA i can find the Coco soda?!! =)
Interesting! I have not heard of using coconut flavored soda for braising but I am sure it must be delicious. Thanks for sharing.
coconut-flavored soda!?! i had no idea such a thing existed! yes, it’d be great to use to enhance some chicken, but i’d like a can or twelve just for drinking purposes!
Hey guys – you can find the Coco Rico soda at any Asian supermarket. They usually come in a pack of 6 for around $2.00. But if you don’t have any markets like that nearby, you can always order on Amazon! It’s more expensive, though
http://www.amazon.com/Coco-Rico-Coconut-66-7-Ounce-Bottles/dp/B0026985AK
Hope this helps!!
Ooh sticky and delicious!
I wonder if I can find that soda here in Perth? Already done my Asian supermarket shopping today, will have a stickybeak next time
I love the glaze of the braised chicken drumsticks.. and drumsticks are always my fav!
Made this tonight for the first time and it was so good! I found the coconut soda at me local grocery store (big surprise!) and decided to try it. I made 12 chicken legs and my husband and I ate all but 2! Thanks so much for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
I have 10 chicken drumstick marinating right now and I will be rushing home from work to get dinner started!
I’ve been researching Ga Roti recipes for awhile and none would use Coco Rico soda, like how my mom would. I’m glad i came across your page- by looking at the pictures it looks like what my mom use to make.
I’ve made variations of Ga Roti before so I made a few adjustments to your recipe. I only used 1 tbsp of oyster sauce and i added 2 tbsp of fish sauce, 1 shallot, and 1 tbsp of honey instead of sugar.
Thanks for sharing!
I had all the ingrediants but the coconut soda, but I really wanted to make this for dinner (because I was going to cook drumsticks anyways, which was how I stumbled on this recipe). I substituted gingerale and sprinkled chopped scallions on the chicken before serving. Yummy! Thank you so much for sharing! So simple!