Vietnamese Steamed Chicken with Fish Sauce (Gà Hấp Mắm Nhĩ)
Gà hấp mắm nhĩ is a simple yet delicious Southern Vietnamese dish that highlights the natural sweetness of chicken enhanced by the deep umami of quality fish sauce. The meat will be tender and fragrant while the fish sauce mixture will create a savory glaze as it reduces.
Servings: 4 people
Calories:
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (about 2.5-3 lbs or 1.2-1.4kg)
- ½ teaspoon lightly crushed black peppercorns
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, thinly sliced (about 1 oz or 30g)
- 1 oz green peppercorns (See Notes for substitutes)
- 1 oz shallots, peeled and lightly smashed (about 4-5 medium shallots)
- 0.5 oz garlic, peeled and lightly smashed (about 4-5 medium cloves)
- 4-5 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (See Notes for substitutes)
- 5-6 cilantro roots (optional)
- 1½ cups water
- 1.5 oz scallions, cut in half in length
For the Sauce
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1½ tablespoons oyster sauce
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil, divided
Instructions
- Spatchcock/Butterfly the Chicken: lay the chicken breast side down and use poultry shears to cut out the backbone. Flip the chicken over and use your palm to press down firmly over the breast so that the chicken lays flat.
- Mix all ingredients in For the Sauce section to form the seasoning liquid; reserve 1 tbsp sesame oil for finishing later. Use half of the mixture to marinate the chicken, both the outside as well as inside. Set aside to marinate up to an hour.
- Heat a large deep pan or braiser over medium heat. Add the crushed black peppercorns and dry-toast briefly until fragrant.
- Add ginger, shallots, garlic, green peppercorns, and lime leaves. Stir-fry for 4–5 minutes until aromatic.
- Pour in the remaining prepared fish sauce mixture along with 1½ cups water. Add the cilantro roots if using and bring it to a simmer. Skim off any foam.
- Add the chicken along with all the marinating liquid to the pan, breast side up. Let the sauce boil and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Cover the pan tightly with a lid and steam for about 15 minutes or longer if your chicken is larger.
- Open the lid and increase the heat to medium high. Use a spoon to constantly baste the chicken with the sauce (focusing on pouring the sauce over the drumsticks and breasts) while reducing the sauce. This may take about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is reduced.
- Brush the remaining sesame oil over the chicken skin. Then scatter the reserved scallions on top. Turn off the heat and cover the pan for 5-10 minutes to let the scallions wilt and finish cooking gently.
- Remove the lid and let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before chopping into serving pieces.
- Strain the reduced sauce. Brush some sauce over the chicken and divide the remaining sauce into small bowls for dipping. Arrange the wilted scallions over the chicken pieces and serve.
Notes
If you can't find green peppercorns, you can use more black peppercorns or throw in some Sichuan peppercorns. For kaffir lime leaves, you can replace with 2-3 bruised lemongrass stalks.
Adjust steaming and basting time as needed depending on the size of your chicken. You can use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked through.
You can carve the chicken to serve in Western-style if you don't want to chop it into Asian-style pieces. Then transfer the sauce to a gravy boat/saucer to pour over the meat. This dish can go well with white rice, steamed rice or potatoes.