Hello hello Foodies!
Today, I’ll be showing you how we poach chicken! In Hmong (Green dialect) we call this dish Nqaj Qab Vum: Nqaj meaning “meat”, Qab meaning “chicken”, and Vum meaning “to poach”. This dish is commonly eaten during New Years, Weddings, Spiritual callings, and on a road trip. But also commonly eaten at home too! Today, we will be seasoning one with black pepper and salt, and the other with roasted shallots and herb pepper paste. It’s so delicious as long as you get good quality organic brown hens and or roosters! And don’t waste that chicken broth! Use it as a soup or to cook rice in. It is that time of year for most Hmong families to poached chicken for the New Year. I hope this recipe and video helps you get a better understanding on how to make poached chicken. Happy Cooking!
Fresh organic rooster 
Adding lemongrass to release the strong raw chicken smell
Save the broth to make soups or cook rice in
Cutting the chicken into smaller pieces before seasoning it
Season with salt and pepper
…Or make a roasted shallot and herb pepper paste to mix it in YUM YUM
Enjoy with pepper dip, rice, and rice!
Happy cooking!
-CHawjCreations
Ingredients
- 1 whole clean brown hen or rooster
- 4 quarts (a gallon) of water (or enough water to cover the chicken)
- 2-3 tbsp salt
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- Salt and pepper to season at the end
- ---FOR ROASTED HERB PEPPER---
- 4-6 shallots cut
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 Thai chili pepper (add more if needed)
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 green onions cut into 4 inch pieces
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp fish sauce
Instructions
1) In a pot, add in the water and salt. While you're waiting for the water to boil, clean the chicken well and poke a few holes in between the thigh area of the chicken as well as the joint of wing to the chicken breast area. This will insure the chicken is cooked all the way though. Once the water comes to a boil, add in the chicken and lemongrass stalk. (There should be enough water to cover most of the chicken. Add more if needed). Cover with a lid and let it cook for a good 15 minutes or so. After 15 minutes, flip it over and cook for another 15-20 more minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Once cooked, take it out onto a bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes or so before cutting.
2) Cut the chicken into desire size pieces and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
3) SOUP: Save the chicken broth and add in some cubed tofu and medicinal herbs if desire. You can add celery stalks also if you want to. Feel free to add some mushroom seasoning for more umami flavor. Don't waste the delicious broth! You can use it to cook your rice as well.
ROASTED SHALLOTS AND HERB PEPPER PASTE
1) In a roasting pan, add in the chopped shallots, green onion, garlic cloves, and chili pepper. Roast in the oven on broil 500' for a good 5-10 minutes each side until they are cooked and charred.
2) In a mortar n pestle, add in the roasted chili, garlic cloves, and salt. Pound until they break apart. Then add in the roasted shallots and green onions. Pound. Then add in the chopped cilantro and fish sauce. Pound and taste for seasoning. Add 2-3 spoons of this to the chopped poached chicken and enjoy!
This roasted shallots and herb pepper paste can be used as a side pepper dip too! 🙂
1 comment
Thank you!! These instructions and steps really helped me. It even helped me on my project that I had to do.