Vietnamese Roasted Crispy Chicken Recipe

Classic Vietnamese Recipe with Explosive Flavor

© Graeme Hay

Oct 25, 2009

The Vietnamese really know how to create taste, this recipe focuses on taking a simple cut of chicken and turning it into something for everyone to savor. This recipe takes the original preparation for Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Ga Ro Ti) and makes a few modifications.

The premise of the dish is to use a stock (made up of a host of fresh herbs and vegetables) to tenderize and infuse the chicken with as much flavor as possible, the skin is then glazed, before being oven roasted, by a Vietnamese honey mixture to achieve the desired crispiness.

Crispy Chicken is a dish that requires a reasonable amount of preparation time but requires only a small amount to actually tend to the dish.

The cooking/preparation time will take about 2 hours from start to finish - this is roughly the same amount of time as a good stew or casserole takes to prepare and cook, and again, in this case the end result is well worth it.

The ingredients list is in 3 parts; chicken, poaching liquid and the honey mixture used in the roasting of the chicken.

Serves 8 people.

Vietnamese Roasted Crispy Chicken Recipe: What You'll Need

• 8 chicken thighs, back bone removed (skin kept on - pivotal to the roasting process!)

This recipe uses boned chicken - you leave the middle bone in to keep the chicken together during the poaching, the back bone and excessive bits of fat/gristle are chopped off, leaving a nice piece of chicken that is able to be simmered in the Vietnamese stock.

Instructions on how to de-bone a chicken thigh can be found online. Alternatively, ask your butcher to do this for you at the time of purchase.

Another benefit of the bones being left in, are that the bones will further tenderize the meat during the cooking process, the end result will be that the meat falls right off the bone and onto the plate.

If bones are not preferred then normal chicken thighs can be used, but make sure they are not skinless as the skin is needed for the crispiness achieved in the roasting phase.

Poaching Liquid:

• 1/2 a bunch of coriander, stems only
• 5 slices of ginger, 1/2cm thick
• 5 white mushrooms, quartered
• 3 cloves of garlic, whole
• 1 brown onion, sliced thinly
• 4 hot red 'finger' (small) chillies
• 1.5L (roughly 3.2 pints) of chicken stock
• 1/2L (roughly 1 pint) of water
• 4 Tbsp of fish sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tsp of salt
• 4 Tbsp of brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp Sichuan peppercorns (found at Asian supermarkets, but normal peppercorns can be used)
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped thinly

Vietnamese Honey Glaze:

• 2 Tbsp of rice vinegar
• 5 Tbsp of honey
• 5 Tbsp of lime juice

Mix these ingredients together in a bowl and heat it up in the microwave or on the stove for 30 seconds, or enough to melt the honey. Stir thoroughly to blend.

Cooking the Chicken:

1. Fry the onion, carrot, celery, ginger, garlic, mushrooms, chillies and lemongrass in a casserole dish with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until the vegetables start to brown.
2. Add the sugar and stir, then add about 1/4 of the cup of stock and the left over ingredients.
3. Reduce this to a sticky glaze and then add the remaining stock and chicken. Ensure there is enough liquid to cover the chicken - more stock or water may be needed for this purpose.
4. Simmer this mixture for 45 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Note: The chicken can sit in this mixture until it is ready to roast, leaving it overnight on the stove, or refrigerated for even longer will increase the infusion of flavors and the overall taste.

Roasting the Chicken - Creating Wonderfully Tasty & Crispy Skin

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees celsius (430F)
2. Remove the chicken from the poaching liquid carefully, and place the chicken onto a greasted rack over a foil lined baking tray.
3. Let the chicken cool for a while, and then brush it with the honey mixture. Brush it again 5 minutes after this. (Repeat multiple times for added flavor/crispiness)
4. Roast for 12-15 minutes - or until the skin becomes noticeably dark and crispy. Brush the chicken with the honey mix again after it comes out of the oven.

After cooking, it can be served with rice & salad, or as a side-dish.

Chopped fresh spring onion is a nice addition to top the chicken with.

If you liked the recipe for Vietnamese Crispy Chicken you may also like:

Recipe for Vietnamese Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Ga Ro Ti)

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