To boil a delicious chicken without breaking the skin is not something everyone can do. The following article from TasteVN will provide you with a few cooking tips to make a tasty boiled chicken, which is not as difficult as you think!
1. How to choose delicious, firm, fragrant chicken
To have a delicious boiled chicken, the step of choosing the chicken is very important. Usually, you should choose a native chicken weighing about 1.5 kg to 2 kg is fine. If you choose a chicken that is too large, it will crack when boiled. If you don’t have time to prepare a live chicken, you can choose to buy pre-prepared chicken and pay attention to the following points:
- A good chicken will have a compact, firm body, with a small breast.
- The skin of the native chicken is shiny yellow, with some parts being dark yellow like the wings, breast, back, and the skin should not be bruised, dark purple, or have black spots, bruises, or bumps…
- If the chicken skin is tough, uniformly shiny yellow, and the chicken fat is white, it indicates that the chicken has been injected with yellowing substances.
- The chicken meat is firm, fresh, and does not have a foul smell, rancid smell, or antibiotic smell…
- Use your hand to press on the chicken’s body, breast, or thigh to check; if the meat is firm, it is good chicken, but if the meat is mushy, slippery, deformed, or has dents that indicate water retention, it shows that the chicken has been injected with water, sometimes mixed with borax, and you should absolutely not buy this chicken to avoid health risks.
2. Choose a suitable chicken boiling pot
A chicken boiling pot is very important. You should choose a pot that has a height and width corresponding to the chicken. Usually, for chickens weighing 1.5 – 2 kg, you can choose a pot with a diameter of 28 cm is just right.
If you boil chicken in a pot that is too large, the chicken will shrink and not look good anymore. If you boil chicken in a pot that is too small, the chicken will not cook evenly.
3. How to boil chicken deliciously
Before boiling the chicken, you should use a toothpick to secure the head of the chicken to its body, then place the chicken in the pot and pour cold water to cover the chicken and boil on high heat.
Wait until the water boils, then lower the heat and continue to boil 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 about 20 more minutes for the chicken to cook evenly.
Depending on the size of the chicken, you can adjust the time accordingly; if the chicken is too large, boil it on the stove for an additional 5 to 20 minutes! For smaller chickens, reduce the time by an additional 5 minutes.
During the boiling process, you can add a few slices of ginger or a few green onion tops to enhance the chicken’s flavor.
4. How to boil chicken using a rice cooker
Additionally, rice cookers can also help you boil chicken quickly and conveniently. Prepare the ingredients including: ginger, green onion, and a little salt.
Pour cold water into the rice cooker about 6 – 8cm deep, just enough, no need to completely submerge the chicken.
Plug it in, press the cook button until the water starts bubbling, then add the green onion, ginger, and salt.
When the water boils, put the chicken in and press the cook button (Cook), continue for about 10 more minutes, then switch to the warm mode (Warm) and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
At this point, use chopsticks to poke into the thickest part of the chicken; if no pink juice runs out, the chicken is cooked.
Remove it and dip it in cold water, then brush the chicken fat mixed with turmeric as mentioned above to achieve a beautiful golden skin.
5. How to keep chicken tender, delicious, and visually appealing
After the boiling time is up, take the chicken out and place it in a large bowl of water, adding ice cubes and waiting until the chicken cools completely before removing it and letting it drain. This method will help the chicken meat become firmer and more resilient, while also making the color more vibrant and appealing!
Finally, take a piece of turmeric, crush it, and mix it with a little chicken broth, then evenly spread it over the chicken skin to achieve a beautiful shiny yellow color.
