How to Choose and Cook Chicken
When choosing chicken, it is preferable to choose native chicken as they usually provide the best flavors. If you decide to buy live chickens, pay attention to the chicken’s health. Healthy chickens can be identified by certain characteristics such as shiny feathers, bright colors, firm bodies, large combs, and bright eyes.
For pre-cooked chicken, look for a chicken with a natural light yellow skin and evenly thin skin throughout the body. Check the firmness of the meat, the small floating bubbles, and the minimal accumulation of yellow fat in the neck and thighs.
Avoid choosing commercially cooked chickens, as they can become soft, not crispy, and lose their delicious flavor. To ensure food quality, choose native chickens or free-range chickens.
Cooking Chicken
When bringing the chicken home, the first step is to wash and rub salt evenly on the surface. Then, rinse thoroughly to ensure cleanliness. If using the chicken for a meal, look for a female chicken with small bones, tender white meat, vibrant yellow skin, sweet taste, and aromatic smell.
After cleaning the chicken, remove the fat leaves from the belly and neck for future use, especially for roasting and collecting chicken fat.
Next, place the chicken in a boiling pot, ensuring enough water to immerse the chicken. Add dried onions, shallots, or ginger to the pot when the chicken is boiling (if cooking chicken soup, you can also add a few slices of ginger).
Note that if using chicken broth for soup, limit the use of ginger as it can affect the flavor of other vegetables when cooked together.
Why Boil Chicken with Hot Water?
Some people have a habit of boiling water in a pot, then putting the chicken in to cook immediately. This can cause the chicken to contract quickly when exposed to high temperatures (thermal shock), leading to skin cracks and ‘cooked inside, raw outside’.
Depending on the purpose, there are two ways to boil chicken: If you want tender meat, put the chicken into lukewarm water (60 degrees) as the nutrients inside will be preserved without being destroyed during prolonged boiling. If you want to use the chicken broth for cooking soup, noodles, or pho, put the chicken in cold water. However, this method will cause the sweet and fatty substances in the chicken to dissolve into the broth, resulting in a milder flavor.
How to Boil Chicken to Get a Golden Crispy Skin
1. Boil the Chicken
Add 2 tablespoons of salt to a pot with slightly flavored water, similar to when cooking soup. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, and boil the chicken for about 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. Then, turn off the heat. Soak the chicken in water for about 30 minutes, then rinse it under cold water to make the meat crispy and delicious.
2. Separate the Fat and Prepare the Turmeric Water
During the chicken boiling process, separate the fat from the chicken’s belly and neck for later use. Take 20-30ml of chicken fat and mix it with turmeric to create a yellow color for the chicken’s skin.
3. Brush the Turmeric Fat on the Chicken
Use the turmeric-fat mixture to brush onto the chicken’s skin after boiling. This creates a glossy yellow color that attracts the eyes of the diners. If using fresh turmeric, finely slice it and mix it with the chicken fat in the pan. Cook the pan for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then turn off the heat.
4. Cool the Chicken and Carve the Meat
Immediately after boiling, immerse the chicken in boiling water or cold water to cool it down. Wait until the chicken is completely cool before placing it on a plate. To make the chicken meat look attractive, refrigerate the chicken for about 30 minutes – 1 hour before carving.
5. Take the Turmeric Water and Brush it on the Chicken
Take a piece of turmeric, mash it, and extract the water. Mix this turmeric water with the previously fried chicken fat, then brush it onto the chicken’s skin. The result is a boiled chicken with a shiny yellow, smooth, and appealing skin.
Note: To maintain the bright and smooth yellow color of the chicken skin, immerse the chicken immediately after boiling to cool it down. Follow this step to avoid the chicken’s skin from becoming dry and unbalanced in flavor. Wishing you successful cooking and enjoy the delicious boiled chicken!
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