Vietnamese Rotisserie Chicken (Ga Roti)
Vietnamese Rotisserie Chicken (Ga Roti) features juicy chicken in a savory sauce with a hint of sweetness. Serve it with rice for a filling dinner.
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 321kcal
Ingredients
- 1.75 lbs chicken drumsticks (about 6 drumsticks)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 2 large garlic cloves, crushed then roughly chopped
- 3 shallots, crushed then roughly chopped
- cooking oil
- fresh juice of one coconut (about 1-1 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Add chicken drumsticks to a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, combine salt, five-spice powder, soy sauce and honey. Pour the marinade over the chicken, add crushed garlic and crushed shallot. Mix well and marinate for several hours in the refrigerator or 20-30 minutes at room temperature if short on time.
- Place a deep pan over medium heat and heat a generous amount of oil. Shake off the aromatics from the drumsticks (reserve both the aromatics and the marinade), then briefly fry them in a single layer until all sides are golden. Work in batch if needed. Watch closely to avoid burning the chicken skin.
- Alternatively, after shaking off the aromatics, broil the chiken on high in the oven until all sides are golden. Watch closely and turn frequently for even colors and avoid burning.
- Remove frying oil and wipe the pan clean. Then pour the reserved marinade with the aromatics into the pan, and add the chicken. Add coconut juice so that the liquid come halfway up the meat.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat to maintain a rolling simmer, skim off any foams. Flip the chicken once or twice. You may need to lower the heat slightly towards the end. Simmer for about 20 minutes until the sauce is thickened to lightly coat the chicken. Near the end, you can taste the meat and the sauce and add more salt, soy sauce or honey to taste.
- Transfer the chicken to serving plates along with the sauce. Serve hot.
Notes
You can use chicken thighs or even whole chicken legs instead of chicken drumsticks.
If you don't have coconut juice, it's fine to use water (or chicken stock) with some extra honey as a substitution.
When simmering the chicken, adjust the heat as needed to keep the simmering time around 20 minutes. If you simmer the chicken for too long, it will dry out the meat.
You can sprinkle some freshly cracked pepper over the chicken when serving if desired.
Nutrition
Calories: 321kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 163mg | Sodium: 829mg | Potassium: 496mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 82IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg