Boiled chicken is a delicious dish loved by many people. This dish may seem simple, but in order to boil a tasty and crispy chicken without breaking it, not everyone knows how. Referring to the content below will help you boil a delicious chicken like in a restaurant.
Tips for choosing good chicken
For good native chicken, you should choose chickens with a light yellow skin color, thin, smooth, high elasticity, and only dark yellow in certain areas like the breast, wings, and back. Native chickens usually have a compact and firm body with a narrow breast.
A good chicken has fresh-looking meat, no foul smell, no bruises or blood spots on the skin. When buying good chicken, do not choose dark chickens as they have already died before being processed.
Use your hand to press on the chicken body, breast, or thigh to check if the meat is firm. If the meat is soft, slippery, deformed, or filled with water, it means the chicken has been injected with water, sometimes mixed with welding water. Absolutely do not buy this chicken to avoid affecting your health.
One of the secrets to choosing good pre-slaughtered chicken is to check the neck. If the skin on the neck is shiny without blood clots or small red bumps, it indicates a healthy and delicious chicken. On the contrary, if the skin on the neck has abnormal color, it means the chicken is sick, so it is not recommended to choose.
To determine if the chicken has been dyed or not, observe the chicken skin. If the skin is yellow and the layer of fat inside is white, it means the chicken has been dyed using chemicals.
In addition, to avoid buying injected chickens, pay attention and use your hand to press on the suspected injection areas (mainly the thigh and breast) to check if they are soft, slippery, or deformed. If they are, do not buy.
The correct way to boil chicken
Before boiling the chicken, use a toothpick to secure the chicken head to the body, then put the chicken in a pot and pour cold water over the chicken, then boil over high heat.
Wait until the water boils, then reduce the heat and continue boiling for about 10 more minutes. Note that during this stage, do not cover the pot while boiling.
After about 10 minutes, turn off the heat and cover the pot for another 20 minutes, then the chicken will be evenly cooked.
Depending on the size of the chicken, adjust the cooking time accordingly. If the chicken is too large, boil for an additional 5-20 minutes. If the chicken is small, reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.
During the boiling process, you can add a few slices of ginger or a few green onion heads to make the chicken more flavorful.
Note: The pot used for boiling chicken is very important. You should choose a pot with a height and width equivalent to the size of the chicken. Typically, for chickens weighing from 1.5 – 2 kg, you can choose a pot with a diameter of 28 cm.
Boiling a chicken in a pot that is too large will cause the chicken to shrink and not look appealing. If the pot is too small, the chicken will not be evenly cooked.
Tips for keeping the chicken tender and attractive
After the boiling time is up, take the chicken out and put it in a large bowl of water, add ice cubes, wait until the chicken is completely cooled, then take it out and let it drain. This method will make the chicken meat firmer and more tender, and the color will be fresher, more attractive!
Finally, take a piece of turmeric, crush it and mix it with a little water from boiling the chicken, then evenly spread it on the chicken skin to give it a beautiful golden color.
Tips for Cleaning and Caring for a Cast Iron Skillet
Despite its notable benefits, using a cast iron pan comes with certain caveats: its need for careful cleaning and maintenance with soap can be a challenge for many. Nevertheless, the superb heat retention, even heat distribution, and non-stick properties of a black cast iron pan have made it a favorite among many.