Hmong Poached Chicken with Mint Cilantro Pepper Dip
I’ve seen many recipes for poached chicken as well as being on numerous menus at Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hmong restaurants. Honestly, it has always sounded underwhelming to me. Boiled chicken. So what. How wrong have I been. While this Hmong recipe is simply that; boiled in lightly salted water with a couple stalks of lemongrass, the mint cilantro dip is what accents the chicken. The chicken turns out unbelievably tender and flavorful. The bones pull completely out. I like to save the bones from the carcass and return them into the pot of stock you just created. The chicken gets arranged on a platter with the dip served on the side. The other way the chicken is served is to completely shred the chicken and mix it with the dip.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 4 lb whole chicken
- 1 gallon water
- 3 tbsp salt
- 2 stalks lemongrass
Mint Cilantro Pepper Dip
- 2 cups mint
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1/2 cup green onions chopped
- 6 Thai chilies
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp mushroom seasoning
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
Instructions
- Bring a gallon of water to boil. Add the salt and lemongrass.
- Add the whole chicken to the pot. Cover. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes.
- Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before assembling.
Mint Cilantro Pepper Dip
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor.
- Process into a paste.
- Refrigerate until ready for use.
