Hi Foodies! Here is another traditional Hmong recipe for you all! I grew up eating this since my mom would make this most of the time when I was young. It’s super simple and yet comforting for me. It’s basically just boiled chicken with mustard greens. I’m using my dads Hmong chicken in this recipe. But any kind of whole chicken with bones works just as fine. It probably won’t have much of a richer taste but it will still taste great! I would say this is a healthier version of boiled pork with Hmong greens. Instead of ginger, we spiced it up with whole chili pepper and cilantro. In this dish, we use the zaub paaj which is refer to as the flowers of the vegetable. Zaub means greens or vegetables and paaj means flower. Once the Hmong greens overgrow, the flower starts sprouting. This is the perfect time to pick it and use it up! Zaub paaj can be boiled or stir fry! But in this case, I’ll be showing you how we boil it. Hope you enjoy and try something different if you haven’t!
Main Ingredients:
Hmong chicken (or any chicken with bone on. Check your local Asian grocery store if they sell whole brown chicken)
Cut half the chicken and cut the meat into pieces. Keep the bones to boil! It brings flavor to the broth.
Hmong Zaub Paaj (green flower). The flower grows out of the Hmong mustard greens. The tip of the greens is what we use in this dish. If you can’t find any, feel free to use mustard greens.
Cut into bite size pieces
You’ll also need: Salt, chili pepper, and fresh cilantro
Boiling the chicken
Adding in the greens
Serve it with rice!
The chicken wing is my favorite part!
I like mixing the rice in with the chicken and greens and eat it like a rice soup! Does anyone else eat like this? 😉 
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Half a chicken cut up (~1-2 lbs * more or less depending on you)
- 1 1/2 lbs Hmong zaub paaj ( or mustard greens)
- 1 TBSP salt (more or less depending on you)
- 2 quarts water (2.5 quarts if you want more broth*adjust the seasoning though)
- 3-4 Thai chili pepper sliced
- 4-5 sprigs of cilantro
Instructions
1) Cut your chicken in half and cut the meat from the thigh, drumstick, and breast into smaller pieces. Save the bones and wings as well.
2) Grab a pot and add the chopped chicken and bones as well as the 2 quarts of water. Bring it to a boil and let it cook for at least 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
3)While the chicken is cooking, rinse your greens and cut them. Go ahead and cut the chili pepper and have the cilantro ready.
4) Once the chicken is cooked, add in salt. Taste and adjust.
5) Add in the greens, pepper, and cilantro. Cook it until the stems of the greens become almost soft but still have a bite. Do not over boil the greens or it will become mushy. Taste and adjust if needed.
Serve along side rice! Enjoy!
-Cindy (CHawjCreations)
Notes
Some recipe calls for MSG, but we don't eat MSG in our house so it's completely optional. If you do add MSG,1/2 tsp is enough. A good substitute for MSG is mushroom seasoning . We use the Po Lo Ku Mushroom Seasoning brand in our house. 1/2 tsp of this can be added as well. Keeping it traditional, we just use salt! Having good quality chicken makes the broth taste even richer! Use the bones! Discard them if you want before serving.
