-
Preparation
20 minutes
-
Cooking
1 hour
-
Difficulty
Easy
Grilled dishes are always one of the great choices for family meals due to their distinctive, rich, and incredibly appealing aroma. Today, let’s join the kitchen to try making simple grilled chicken with lotus leaves at home!
Ingredients for Grilled Chicken with Lotus Leaves For 4 people
Chicken 1 whole Lotus leaves 2 leaves Shallots 3 bulbs (small) Ginger 1 piece Banana leaves A little Pandan leaves 3 leaves Cinnamon leaves A little Cooking oil A little Fish sauce 4 tablespoons Vinegar A little Common seasonings A little (sugar/ pepper/ monosodium glutamate/ seasoning powder/ salt)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh chicken
- When buying pre-processed chicken, the size of the chicken is an important factor. Depending on the breed, you should choose those with moderate size and weight. Avoid choosing overly large ones as they may be injected with water, or those that are too small as they may not have matured, which will result in tough meat when cooked.
- You should choose pre-processed chickens that have a shiny yellow skin, good elasticity, and no bruises or blood clots.
- When choosing live chickens, you need to pay attention to their movement. A healthy chicken will move flexibly, its feathers will be smooth and have a certain shine.
- Do not buy live chickens with dull eyes, wheezing breaths, bruises on their legs, or darkened or black combs, as these are signs of illness.
How to choose and where to buy lotus leaves
- For this dish, you need to use fresh lotus leaves. You should choose leaves that are intact, wide, and not infested or showing signs of yellowing.
- It is advisable to use young lotus leaves or medium-sized leaves, and avoid purchasing leaves that are infested or too old.
- You can easily find lotus leaves at markets, large supermarkets, or specialty lotus shops.
Required tools
Grill, pot, pan, knife, cutting board, spoon, aluminum foil,…
How to prepare Grilled Chicken with Lotus Leaves
-
Prepare the ingredients
If you buy live chicken, you need to prepare the chicken. Bring a pot of water to a boil, adding some cinnamon leaves to the pot. When the water is boiling, put the chicken that has been bled into the pot and blanch it for about 3 – 5 minutes to allow the water to penetrate the feathers.
Take the chicken out and let it cool down a bit before plucking the feathers. You can use a knife or tweezers to remove any remaining feathers on the chicken’s body.
Wash the chicken thoroughly with water to remove any feathers still sticking to it. Add a little vinegar (lemon juice/diluted salt water) to eliminate the fishy smell of the chicken. Rinse 2 – 3 more times and the chicken will be ready for cooking.
How to clean and deodorize chicken meat- In addition to the above preparation method, you can also soak the chicken in salt water for 10 minutes, then rinse it with clean water and proceed to pluck the feathers.
- Alternatively, you can use vinegar or alcohol to pour over the chicken feathers before blanching, making it easier to pluck.
- You can mix vinegar with salt in a ratio of 2 salt to 1 vinegar, then rub it all over the chicken and scrub it several times, then rinse thoroughly with cold water.
See details: How to clean chicken without smell
For the seasoning, crush the shallots and ginger to release their aroma, then slice them thinly, and continue to thinly slice 2 pandan leaves.
-
Sauté the spices
Pour a little cooking oil into the pan, turn on medium heat, and proceed to fry the shallots, ginger, and thinly sliced pandan leaves until fragrant.
When the shallots, ginger, and pandan leaves start to turn golden, add 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder and stir well. Be careful not to turn the heat too high as it will burn the spices.
Once the spices are well combined and golden, turn off the heat, transfer the spices to a bowl, and let them cool down a bit.
-
Marinate and wrap the chicken
When the seasoning has cooled, you proceed to marinate the chicken. You marinate the chicken from the inside first, evenly spreading the seasoning inside the chicken, then continue to apply it to the outer skin of the chicken.
Add 1 pandan leaf inside the chicken to enhance the aroma of the chicken. Marinate the chicken for 15 – 20 minutes to let the seasoning soak in.
After marinating, place the chicken in the center of the lotus leaves and proceed to wrap it. Here, I used 2 lotus leaves to wrap, making sure to wrap it tightly and use dried banana leaves to tie it securely.
Continue to wrap the chicken that has been wrapped in lotus leaves with aluminum foil. You should wrap it in 2 – 3 layers of aluminum foil to ensure the chicken does not burn when roasting!
-
Roast the chicken
Place the grill over the charcoal fire and start roasting the chicken. You roast for about 40 – 45 minutes.
With this grilling method, you need to turn the chicken every 5 minutes to ensure it cooks evenly. Be sure to use a wet cloth when turning the chicken as it will be very hot!
Alternatively, you can roast by burying the chicken in charcoal; with this method, the chicken will cook evenly and you won’t need to turn it. However, grilling on the rack will make the chicken more tender and juicy.
After roasting, take the chicken down, unwrap the aluminum foil and lotus leaves. And there you have it, you have completed the delicious and appealing roasted chicken in lotus leaves.
-
Final Product
The grilled chicken with lotus leaves will have a shiny golden color, with the aromatic smell of lotus blending with pandan leaves, shallots, and ginger, creating a distinctive and rich flavor that embodies the simplicity of the countryside.
The pieces of chicken are rich, tender, and juicy, absorbing the seasoning evenly. You can enjoy the chicken dish with salt and lime pepper to make family meals more appealing and delicious.
This article has guided you on how to make grilled chicken with lotus leaves that is delicious and extremely simple to do at home. Hope you can bring this delicious dish for the whole family to enjoy. Wish you success!
