How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Stewed with Lotus Seeds
Chicken stewed with lotus seeds, or lotus seed chicken soup, with the addition of red dates, creates a fragrant, mild flavor. This dish is not only refreshing but also helps improve health.
Ingredients
- 1 whole free-range chicken ~1kg-1.2kg
- 200g fresh lotus seeds
- 50g red dates
- 3 shallots
- Spring onions, cilantro
- Coarse salt
- Seasonings: fish sauce, MSG, seasoning powder, ground pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Chicken
After cleaning and plucking the chicken, remove the tail and trim the claws. It's recommended to discard the chicken head as it often contains grit and accumulates a lot of impurities.
Clean the chicken offal thoroughly, rub it with salt, rinse well, and let it dry before slicing it into small pieces. You can store these pieces in the fridge to use in other delicious offal dishes.
For the rest of the chicken, rub it with coarse salt and scrub well to clean and remove any odor, then rinse and let dry. Finally, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces, or you can cut it into larger pieces since it will be soft and easy to shred after stewing.
Once chopped, marinate the chicken with 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and 1/3 tablespoon of ground pepper. Mix well and let it absorb the seasoning for 20-30 minutes.
For the best flavor, use free-range chicken for this dish. Industrial chicken can taste mushy and less flavorful when stewed.
Prepare Lotus Seeds and Other Ingredients
For fresh lotus seeds, be sure to remove the bitter green core inside and peel off the outer skin. Rinse the seeds and blanch them briefly. Boil just until the water reaches a rolling boil, then remove and rinse the seeds again, allowing them to drain.
Rinse the red dates and make small cuts on the surface to release their sweetness and allow the flavors to infuse while cooking.
Peel and thinly slice the shallots.
Rinse and roughly chop the spring onions and cilantro.
Cook Chicken Stewed with Lotus Seeds
Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pot and sauté the sliced shallots until fragrant. Add the marinated chicken and stir-fry until the meat firms up. Then, pour enough water to cover the chicken. Typically, with the above ingredients for a dish serving 4 people, you’ll need about 3 liters of water.
Initially, use high heat to bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Skim off any foam to keep the broth clear. Cover the pot and cook the chicken for about 15 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked, add the lotus seeds and continue stewing for another 10 minutes until both the chicken and seeds are tender.
Season to taste with MSG, seasoning powder, and a dash of fish sauce to enhance the aroma. Turn off the heat, ladle the stew into a bowl, and garnish with chopped spring onions and cilantro.
This dish can be served with rice as a regular soup or enjoyed with vermicelli noodles for a different twist.
