Food & Receipts

Why do people often choose steamed chicken to offer to ancestors on Tet holiday? Learn how to tie it “super fast” with just one string.

Many families choose steamed angel wing chicken because it is not only aesthetically pleasing but also adds abundance to the ancestral altar on Tet holidays.

Administrator

9 February, 2024

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Not only does boiling chicken symbolize the respect and reverence of descendants for the gods, ancestors, but boiled chicken also represents the wish for a prosperous new year and wealth for the owner. Therefore, when preparing boiled chicken, you need to be careful and meticulous to ensure the most well-arranged offering tray on Tet holiday.

The appearance of phoenix-winged chicken is elegant with its head raised, wings stretched out on both sides, and the feet kneeling, making it very eye-catching. According to the belief of ancient people, this is the posture of a chicken worshiping and showing the respect of descendants to superiors.

1. Ingredients for boiling phoenix-winged chicken

– Rooster: weighing from 1.2 to 1.5kg

– Spices: Salt, lemon

– Lạt giang: 1 thread (In case there is no lạt giang thread, you can use nylon thread as a replacement)

2. How to boil phoenix-winged chicken

Step 1: Prepare the chicken

– After buying the rooster, you need to rub it with salt and lemon to remove any odor. Thanks to this step, you can eliminate the unpleasant smell of the chicken. Although using ginger water to rub is also a way to remove the smell, it may affect the taste of the chicken broth.

– Then, gently squeeze the chicken’s head to remove the liquid from its tongue, nose, and throat. Then, rinse the chicken with clean water by standing the chicken up and pouring water to remove any remaining dirt.

– Because the offering chicken usually needs a complete set: Gizzard, heart, liver… so you also need to clean them. For the liver and gizzard, you need to use salt to clean them and rinse them with water.

Step 2: Tie the phoenix-winged chicken

– Soak the lạt giang thread in water to make it soft before tying it for easier operation.

– First, place the chicken straight up, use your hand to hold the chicken neck and fix the two wings.

– Then, take the soaked lạt giang thread to tie under the wings to fix the chicken neck and wings. Especially, you should not tie the thread to the chicken’s crest because it will make the offering chicken less attractive.

Step 3: Boil the chicken

– Take a deep pot with a medium size to boil the chicken. Do not use a too small pot because it will be difficult to flip the chicken.

– Add cold water to the pot (about 2/3 pot) and then place the tied phoenix-winged chicken into the pot in high heat. To make the chicken beautiful without being in a state of “overcooked outside, raw inside,” you should place the chicken facing up.

– To make the meat and broth more flavorful, you can add 1/2 tablespoon of soup powder or a few grains of table salt to the pot. When the water in the pot is boiling, gradually add the gizzard, heart, and liver into the boiling water.

– Wait until the pot of chicken boils, then reduce the heat and use a large spoon to skim off the scum.

– After the chicken has boiled for about 5 minutes, turn off the heat and soak the chicken in the pot for 15 to 20 minutes to fully cook.

Step 4: Take out the chicken and present it on a dish

– When taking out the chicken and gizzard, you need to immediately put them in a bowl of cold water to make the chicken skin beautiful, tender, and the meat firm without being flabby.

– Arrange the chicken on a plate, you can place the gizzard next to it or inside the chicken. In addition, to make the boiled chicken dish beautiful and suitable for the New Year’s offering tray, the first day of the lunar month… you can insert a red rose in the chicken’s mouth.