What is Gà Luộc?
Gà Luộc is a traditional Vietnamese dish featuring a whole gently boiled/poached chicken with its head, feet, innards, and all.
Its signature yellow color comes from turmeric.
This yellow Vietnamese boiled chicken is a staple of the Lunar New Year (Tết) celebrations, symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. It’s also presented as one of the many food offerings on the family altar during death anniversaries (Đám Giỗ).
What You Will Need
To make Vietnamese poached or boiled chicken, gather the following ingredients:
- Whole Chicken: The star of the dish offers both white and dark meat. I’m using a traditional, free-range chicken, known in Vietnamese as Gà Đi Bộ, meaning “walking chicken.” This chicken provides a more authentic taste. This variety of chicken has a firmer, chewier texture and a deeper flavor, albeit at a higher cost. These free-range chickens typically weigh no more than 3-½ lbs.
- Salt: Our simple seasoning. I’m using coarse sea salt.
- Shallots, Ginger and Scallions: These are our typical southeast Asian aromatics to infuse into the chicken.
- Turmeric powder: Turmeric powder is mixed with render chicken fat that gets brushed onto the finished chicken for a beautiful shiny finish. You can also use fresh turmeric root.
Preparations
Wash the chicken. While not all cultures advocate for washing chicken, here it is essential.
It’s common knowledge that washing chicken does not kill bacteria. Only cooking the chicken thoroughly will do that.
The purpose of washing the chicken is to remove any unpleasant poultry smell. It also eliminate any impurities on the skin’s surface, leaving it smooth and pristine. This is exactly what we want, especially when it’s used as a celebratory dish.
I’m using coarse sea salt to scrub the skin, followed by a thorough rinse and patting dry with paper towels.
Once washed and rinsed, the chicken is simply seasoned with salt and stuffed with aromatics (ginger, scallions, and shallots).
Poaching
To achieve its vibrant yellow hue, fresh or powder turmeric can be added to the boiling water. It evenly coats the chicken nicely. However, this method turns the water yellow with a strong turmeric smell. This is perfectly fine if you like turmeric.
A better approach is to render some of the excess chicken fat in a small frying pan. Add turmeric into it then brush this mixture onto the cooked chicken for a shiny yellow finish. You will still have clear chicken stock for use with other recipes.
It’s crucial to keep the skin intact for a more beautiful presentation. Traditionally, hot water is ladled onto the chicken before it’s fully submerged in boiling water. This process tightens the skin slowly, preventing the shock that can cause the skin to tighten quickly and tear.
Another method is to quickly dip the chicken, held by its neck, into boiling water for a few seconds to acclimate. Repeat this a few times, then slowly lower the chicken into the boiling water to gently poached.
Ice Bath for the Perfect Texture
After poaching, the chicken is immediately immersed in ice water to stop the cooking process. I’m not a big fan of making food cold, but this is an important step to tighten the skin for its signature texture and appearance.
Serving
The most traditional presentation involves simply placing the chicken on a platter.
For a more visually appealing presentation, the head can be propped upright with strings or wooden skewers.
Garnish the whole boiled chicken with thinly sliced strands of lime leaves or cilantro. This adds a citrusy aroma and complements the chicken very well. Serve chicken with a simple and traditional dipping sauce made from salt, ground pepper, and lime juice.
Pro-Tips
Use a larger pot to ensure the chicken is fully submerged for even cooking.
Get creative with dipping sauces. Use any one of these sauces for dipping:
- The traditional salt, pepper and lime sauce
- Vietnam’s all purpose dipping (Nước Chấm)
- Ginger fish sauce (Nước Mắm Gừng)
- a Chinese-style ginger scallion sauce or even straight out of the bottle hoisin sauce.
Related Posts
If you enjoy this recipe, you might enjoy these popular Vietnamese chicken recipes:
- Chicken Soup with Glass Noodles (Mien Ga)
- Ginger Chicken (Ga Kho Gung)
- Chicken Porridge (Chao Ga)
- Lemongrass Roast Chicken (Gà Nướng)
- Easy Pan-Fried Spicy Lemongrass Chicken (Ga Chien Sa Ot)
- Coconut Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)
- Vietnamese Fish Sauce Fried Chicken Wings (Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm)
- Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Goi Ga Bap Cai)
Vietnamese Poached Chicken (Gà Luộc)
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
A succulent whole chicken, poached to perfection with its head, feet, and innards, and brushed with turmeric for an iconic yellow hue. A Lunar New Year staple, perfect for Tết celebrations or as an offering during Đám Giỗ.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 free-range chicken (3 lbs)
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt (more for cleaning)
- 1 shallot
- 2-inch fresh ginger
- 2 scallions/green onions
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (see notes)
- Cilantro or thinly sliced lime leaves for garnish (optional)
Dipping Sauce Options
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: Start by trimming off the excess fat located on the underside of the chicken and set it aside to render later. Clean the chicken thoroughly by rubbing it inside and out with a generous amount of coarse sea salt (about 1 tablespoon). If the chicken comes with a gizzard and other internal organs, wash those as well.
- Prepare the aromatics. Peel the shallot and slice into thick wedges. Leave the peel on the ginger and cut it into thick coins. Give each coin a good smash to help release its aroma. Wash the green onions and leave them whole. Stuff the shallot wedges, smashed ginger coins, green onions, and any internal organs inside the cavity of the chicken. Stuff the chicken legs into the cavity to hold all the stuffing inside, or you can tie it with cooking twine or use wooden skewers to close.
- Cook chicken: Using a large pot with a lid, bring enough water to cover the chicken to a boil. Hold the chicken by the neck and dunk it in slowly to tighten the skin. Do this three times to ensure all areas of the chicken are touched by the hot water. Carefully lower the chicken into the boiling water, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, and cover. Let it cook for 20 minutes on the lowest simmer. Turn for even cooking, if needed. Turn off the heat and let it continue to cook with the residual heat for 10 additional minutes.
- Remove chicken: Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and transfer it to an ice bath. Let it sit for 15 more minutes. Remove from the ice bath and pat dry with paper towels.
- Brush chicken: Render the chicken fat until melted. Turn off the heat and add turmeric powder. Mix well. Brush the yellow oil onto the poached chicken for a beautiful shiny finish.
- Finish: Transfer chicken to a serving platter, propping it upright as if its sitting. Garnish chicken with thinly sliced strands of lime leaves or cilantro. Serve with dipping sauces.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Entree, Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese
