Preparation
15 minutes
Cooking
30 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
On rainy afternoons like this, what could be better than having the whole family gather together to enjoy a hot hot pot while laughing and chatting. Join TasteVN in the kitchen and take note of the recipe for the refreshing chicken hot pot with wild betel leaves to treat your family!
Ingredients for Chicken Hot Pot with Wild Betel Leaves For 3 people
Local chicken 1 bird (about 1.6kg) Wild betel leaves 250 gr Shallots 3 bulbs Ginger 1 piece Garlic 4 cloves Culantro 3 sprigs (Vietnamese coriander) Chili 2 pieces Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (Sugar/ salt/ monosodium glutamate/ seasoning powder)
Utensils needed
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh, clean, safe chicken
- To make the hot pot tasty, you should choose local chicken with a light yellow skin color, only darker in some areas such as the breast, wings, and back of the chicken.
- Carefully observe the skin of the chicken and the inner layer of fat; if the outer skin is yellow but the inner layers of fat are white, it is a dyed chicken, and you should not choose it.
- Good local chicken will have thin, smooth skin and high elasticity, fresh chicken will not have a foul smell, and avoid choosing chicken that smells of antibiotics. Pay attention, if you see bruises or blood clots on the chicken skin, you should also discard it and not buy it.
How to choose fresh giang leaves
- The best giang leaves are those that are freshly picked, still bright green, not wilted, and not damaged by pests. Choose whole leaves that are not bruised and do not have many white or black spots on them.
- To make a delicious dish, you should choose giang leaves that are neither too old nor too young, as they will provide a more natural and fresh sour taste.
- If you buy a lot of giang leaves but do not use them all, you can store the leaves directly in the refrigerator without washing them first, as washing may spoil the leaves.
How to prepare Chicken Hotpot with giang leaves
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Prepare the chicken
You can buy a pre-cleaned chicken to save time; when you get it home, use about 1 tablespoon of salt to rub all over the chicken for about 3 – 5 minutes to clean the skin and remove any unpleasant odors, then rinse it several times with clean water and let it drain.
Next, use a knife to cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
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Marinating chicken
You place the chopped chicken into a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of seasoning, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce into the bowl, then mix well and let the chicken marinate for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavors.
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Preparing other ingredients
Peel 4 cloves of garlic, then crush them and chop them finely. Crush 3 shallots as well, and wash 1 piece of ginger, then crush it. Wash 3 coriander branches and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Remove the stems from 2 chili peppers and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
Pick 250 grams of giang leaves, wash them thoroughly, then use your hands to crush the giang leaves so that when cooking the hotpot, it will be more sour and delicious.
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Stir-fry the chicken
Put a pot on the stove, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, wait for the oil to heat up, then add chopped garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Next, add the marinated chicken to stir-fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the chicken is just cooked.
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Cook the hotpot
After the chicken has been stir-fried, add 1.5 liters of boiling water into the pot to cook quickly.
Then, add smashed ginger and shallots into the pot, cook over medium heat until boiling, then wait for about 20 – 30 minutes for the chicken to be cooked to your liking. Be careful not to cook too long, or the chicken will become soft and lose its chewy texture.
Next, slowly add the sour leaves, then add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of salt. You can adjust the seasoning to suit your family’s taste.
Let it boil for another 5 minutes, then add chopped cilantro and chili, and turn off the heat.
