Sunday, May 30, 2010

Hue Chicken Salad (Ga Bop)


I first tasted this elegant dish on my first visit to Hue in Vietnam. Hue is renowned for its fine royal cuisine and this is a testament of that . As you can notice very few ingredients are used here but every single one of them has to be the absolute best.  The handling of the ingredients too are not to be taken lightly as any flaws can greatly affect the final dish. This is certainly a dish that will test one's knife skill, cooking skill and patience all at once but the reward is more than words could describe. Vietnamese salad is consumed like Thai salad as part of a meal with plenty of steamed rice.
P.S Recipe by one of my reader Pham, thank you!

serves 4 to 6 as part of a Vietnamese meal
you'll need;
1/2 a chicken or a small chicken, poached* and shredded.
5 cm knob of ginger, sliced
2 spring onions (white part only)
1 star anise
1 brown onion, very thinly sliced, rinsed and drained well
juice of 1 lime
3 bird chilies (or 1 large red chili for a milder version)
2 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of black pepper
1 tsp of salt
1 tbs of peanut oil
1 bunch (about 1 cup) of Vietnamese mint
lettuce
* chicken is poached the Chinese way which produces the most tender meat every time.
method 1 - Place chicken, ginger, star anise, spring onion in a pot. Cover chicken with water and bring it to a boil, cover on heat off and leave chicken til the water cools down.
method 2 - Place chicken, ginger, star anise, spring onion in a pot. Cover chicken with water and bring it
to a boil, cover on and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken.


Poach the chicken using any of the above method. Reserve cooking stock for other uses.

Shred half the chicken (keep the other half as topping for noodles or congee)

Slice the onion very finely and the chilies.

Vietnamese mint - can't do without this, pick an set aside.

Massage chicken with sugar, black pepper, oil, salt and lime juice, yes massage very well then add in the onions and chilies. Mix well.

Finally mix in the Vietnamese mint and mix well, check for seasonings. Well it is really not that hard is it?

Serve as part of a Vietnamese meal with plenty of steamed rice.

This has been submitted to Delicious Vietnam,  an event co-hosted by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey and Hong and Kim of Ravenous Couple. Hong and Kim are hosting the June event.

30 comments:

  1. Ooo... This is truly mouthwatering! I love this kind of salad. I still have some leftover chicken meat in the fridge. Going to make this tomorrow. Thanks so much for sharing! Have a nice evening!
    Cheers, Kristy

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  2. Really love your home cooking....this is again a very appetizing dish for any day!

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  3. sejenis kerabu ni ,ada daun kesom pasti baunya sangar menyelerakan.Daun kesom is my favorite.Boleh tanya satu soalan tak?adakah anda sudah round satu dunia?sebab tummy mahir dalam semua jenis masakan:)tahniah

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  4. O no! My vietnamese mint died and I have to wait a fortnight before my friend brings me more. THEN I will try this. It looks fantastic!

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  5. Looks fabulous but I fear I may chop my fingers off trying to prepare it ;)

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  6. Superb chicken salad. I'm not familiar with Vietnamese food so I welcome this recipe.

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  7. wow looks delicious n very easy! suka yang simple2 like this! i will try! thanx tummy..

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  8. salam tummy..masakan kalau taruh daun kesum mesti wangi dan sedap..another great dish from you..

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  9. This just sparkles. I love simple when everything is fresh. Why mess with a good thing?

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  10. This looks divine and I bet it is delicious! You have a great mix of ingredients in it!

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  11. I am planning to go to Hanoi!

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  12. this is my kinf of salad of sunday evening !! and I wonder what is the taste of vietnamese mint

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  13. I love this why am i still ordering spring rolls lol

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  14. Very good job :) looks better than my version!

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  15. Hello,

    Wow, this dish looks great! will give this recipe a shot ;)

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  16. I just love this salad, light and refreshing!

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  17. I have been to Hue as well. One of those places that you remember. Love this chicken! And that you actually use your hands. Love the word 'massage'!

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  18. So refreshing and appetizing...yummmy!!

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  19. My darling I am waiting for you to make this for us soon. We tried making this but it was just not the same!

    Sophia xxx

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  20. What a refreshing recipe! I love noodle dishes like this!

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  21. Love this salad! I like too that the ingredients are few but need to be fresh and delicious; excellent recipe, can't wait to try it!

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  22. Hi tummy! nice to know ur blog! awesome! i love to cook i love to eat hihihi.. i lompat from hana blog, hope u dont mind if i add u kat my bloglist k :-)

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  23. I'll have to poach that chicken just like you say. I'd love to make this, but I'm not a very good masseuse. hehe! What a wonderful salad!

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  24. Harriet from CarltonMay 31, 2010 at 4:40 PM

    Such a healthy and refreshing dish, the chicken looks very tender indeed!

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  25. I know so little about Vietnamese food apart from pho and rice paper rolls lol. Looks really delicious with tender chciken.

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  26. Salad looks healthy, filling and droolworthy..

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  27. More Vietnamese goodies! I had this before but sliced chicken was used so I guess it must not be that authentic :(

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  28. Kristy,
    Thank you very much! Please let me know how it goes!

    Angie,
    Thank you very much! :)

    makcikmanggis,
    Terima kasih makcik. Memang enak dengan daun kesom tu :) Haha belum lagi round sedunia ni.

    Joy,
    Thank you very much! A very handy herbs to have at home, make sure you water it all the time!

    Eternally Distracted,
    Haha it is worth getting one's fingers cut!

    dinnersanddreams,
    Thank you! I hope you will try it.

    hana,
    Thank you very much! Memang simple dan enak ni :)

    mohdandmeriam,
    Terima Kasih makcik. Memang wangi daun kesom tu!

    Claudia ,
    Thank you! It is not something I want to mess around with :)

    Pam,
    Thank you very much!

    Kenny,
    How exciting! You have have all the best eating places lining up!

    pierre,
    Thank you! It is quite hard to explain :)

    darren,
    Haha slowly you will find out

    Pham,
    Thanks for the recipes I will try the rest soon!

    Yat Maria ,
    Thank you very much!

    Cheah,
    Thank you! Indeed indeed!

    All Our Fingers in the Pie,
    Thank you! You must have tried the wonderful food there too! I prefer to use my hands to mix, it s just not the same otherwise.

    Anncoo ,
    Thank you very much!

    Sophia darling,
    Very soon :) xxx

    Sook,
    Thank you! There are no noodles in this but I think one can always add some bean thread noodles to it.

    tasteofbeirut ,
    Thank you very much! I hope you will try it soon!

    ijayuji,
    Oh thank you very much! I don't mind at all in fact I am very honoured.

    Lyndsey ,
    haha thank you! You must start practicing lol

    Harriet from Carlton,
    Thank you very much!

    shanshan,
    Thank you! It is a lot more than just pho and rice paper rolls :)

    Priya,
    Thank you very much!

    love to eat ,
    More to come soon! I get upset if sliced chicken is used too!

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  29. Very beautiful salad. Looks refreshing and delicious.

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  30. Mary,
    Thank you! It is very healthy too!

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