If you’re unsure about your cooking skills, instead of using tap water to boil the chicken, you can try something different. I guarantee the chicken will turn out incredibly tasty and tender. So, what’s the secret? Read on to find out:
Preparing the Chicken
– To save time, ask your butcher to clean and prepare the chicken for you. This ensures you start with a clean slate when you get home.
– Once you have the chicken, give it a good rinse. Use a few spoonfuls of salt and gently rub the grains onto the chicken’s skin, working from top to bottom. Avoid scrubbing too hard, as this may tear the skin, affecting the appearance after boiling.
– Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then rinse it with cold water. This not only ensures a cleaner chicken but also allows some of the salt to be absorbed, resulting in crispier skin after cooking.
– Place the chicken on a rack to drain excess water.
The Secret to Delicious Boiled Chicken
Instead of using traditional cold water, try boiling the chicken in warm water. This is the game-changer: add a few slices of dried onion and ginger to the pot of water. Bring the water to a gentle boil, allowing the flavors of the onion and ginger to infuse into the water and, eventually, the chicken. This simple step adds a depth of flavor to your boiled chicken. Make sure the water completely covers the chicken for even cooking and a consistent color. If you’re boiling the chicken for a ceremonial purpose, place it straight in the pot, ensuring it lies flat and doesn’t tilt to one side.
– Once the water reaches a rolling boil, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 5 minutes if the chicken weighs between 1 to 2 kilograms, and 7 to 10 minutes for chickens weighing 2.5 to 4 kilograms. Then, turn off the heat and let the chicken sit in the hot water for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
– For older chickens, calculate 15 minutes of cooking time from the moment the water starts boiling, keeping the heat low.
Achieving a Beautiful Golden Color
– While the chicken is cooking, prepare a natural dye: take 3 fresh turmeric roots, crush them, and add 4 tablespoons of oil. Heat this mixture on low, infusing the oil with the turmeric’s color and flavor. If your chicken has excess fat, use that instead of oil.
– Once the chicken is cooked, plunge it into cold water for 5 minutes.
– Remove the chicken from the water and pat it dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. Using a pastry brush or a clean piece of cloth, apply a thin layer of the turmeric oil mixture to the chicken’s skin. This will give it a beautiful golden hue. If your chicken was fed corn, you can skip this step, as their skin naturally turns a lovely yellow color.
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Selecting the Best Chicken for Boiling For the best boiled chicken, opt for free-range chickens, preferably those fed a natural diet. These chickens tend to have uneven sizes, typically weighing between 1.3 to 1.7 kilograms for hens and around 2 kilograms for roosters. Look for bright red wattles and combs, alert eyes, and a firm, yellowish skin tone rather than pale white. Free-range chickens fed corn tend to have golden skin due to the high beta-carotene content in corn, which also contributes to the deeper yellow color of their egg yolks compared to factory-farmed chickens. |
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