Caramelized Thai Chicken with Stir-Fry Noodles

I recently signed up for a trial subscription to Food & Wine magazine. After I'd received my confirmation email from them, I went to check out their recipe section of the website and stumbled across this one, which served as the leaping off point for dinner that night. My version uses about half the amount of sugar, and it was plenty sweet.

Caramelized Thai Chicken with Stir-Fry Noodles

1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/2 tsp thai chile paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, fish sauce, water, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper and chile sauce.

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the fish sauce mixture and the chicken and simmer over high heat until the chicken is almost cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a pot of boiling water. Add dry rice stir fry noodles to pot. Cook according to package directions. However, after draining, add noodles to chicken mixture. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until chicken is cooked thru and noodles are well-coated. Serve immediately.