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Preparation
1 hour
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Fake Chicken For 5 people
Chicken 1.5 kg (about 1 fighting chicken) Lemongrass 10 stalks Turmeric 100 gr Ginger 100 gr Galangal 100 gr Fresh coconut 1 fruit Roasted peanuts 200 gr Five-spice powder 50 gr Satay 50 gr Shrimp paste 1 tablespoon Lemon juice 3 tablespoons Shallot 50 gr Garlic 50 gr Kaffir lime leaves 5 gr Accompanying vegetables 100 gr (herbs/ Vietnamese coriander/ banana flower…)
Implementation Tools
How to Choose Ingredients
- To have a properly made imitation dog chicken dish, you should choose fighting cocks; the meat will be the most chewy and delicious.
- If you cannot buy fighting cocks, you can substitute with local chickens.
How to Choose Good Local Chicken
- For pre-prepared local chickens, you should choose those with evenly yellow skin and a darker color in areas like the wings, breast, or back. Local chickens usually have a compact, firm body and a narrow breast.
- Pre-prepared local chickens often have thin, smooth skin, a certain degree of elasticity, and are not bruised or have purple or red spots of blood.
- For live chickens, choose those with bright red combs, alert eyes, and agility. Their feathers should be smooth and close to the body, with sharp, small beaks and no signs of discharge.
- The legs of the chicken should be small, neat, and the skin should be uniformly bright yellow. When parting the feathers, the chicken’s skin should feel soft and thin, with some large yellow streaks under the armpits and breast.
How to Prepare Imitation Dog Chicken
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Prepare the Ingredients
Ginger, turmeric, and galangal should be peeled, crushed with a knife, and then minced.
Garlic and shallots should also be peeled and minced finely. Wash the lime leaves and cut them small or leave them whole.
For lemongrass, take half of it to mince finely. The other half should be cut into pieces and smashed.
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Boil the peanuts
After buying the peanuts, rinse them to remove dirt and sand, then gently squeeze to open the tip of the peanut slightly (if you have time, you should soak the peanuts in salt and a little star anise for about 8 hours or overnight before boiling).
Boil the peanuts over high heat; when the water boils, reduce to low heat and boil for about 15 – 20 minutes, then continue to keep the heat low, boiling for another 15 minutes until the peanuts are cooked.
Tips for boiling peanuts without turning dark
- When boiling peanuts, you should only add enough water to just cover the peanuts or a little less; do not add too much water. Adding too much water will cause the peanuts to absorb water and become soft and unappetizing.
- When boiling peanuts, add a little salt and a bit of alum. Alum will help the peanuts retain their color and not turn dark when cooked.
- You can also boil peanuts using an pressure cooker for about 10 – 15 minutes to save time and make the peanuts softer and tastier.
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Making fake chicken
Put a pot on the stove and add coconut water, add a smashed lemongrass stalk and 1/2 of the minced ginger, and bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
Add the remaining half of the lemongrass, garlic, and minced onion along with ginger, turmeric, and galangal to sauté until fragrant. Once everything is fragrant, add the marinated chicken and stir-fry lightly until the chicken meat is firm.
Then pour the boiled coconut water into the pot with the chicken, add the cooked peanuts, and continue to boil. Cook for about 30 – 40 minutes until the chicken is done.
If the coconut water is low, and the chicken is not cooked but the coconut water has evaporated, add more filtered water and continue cooking until the chicken is tender.
When the chicken is cooked and the cooking liquid starts to thicken, taste and adjust the seasoning before turning off the heat.
Tip: If you don’t have coconut water, you can use filtered water. But coconut water will help the dish taste more authentic.
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Final product
Fake chicken will have a rich and delicious flavor. The chicken meat, together with the aroma of other ingredients, will make you savor every bite. This dish can be served with noodles or bread and is absolutely wonderful.
See more
It’s really easy to make your favorite fake chicken right at home, isn’t it? Let’s get cooking and refresh the family’s menu!
*Refer to images and recipes from sieungon.com and the YouTube channel NQMT COOK Nhà Quê Miền Tây.
