Name: Com Ga
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1.4 kg small whole chicken; 2 litres water; 1 tbsp salt; 4 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced; 2 shallots, halved; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 shallots, finely sliced; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 300 g jasmine rice, rinsed; 400 ml chicken poaching stock; 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp lime juice; ½ tsp salt; 1 handful Vietnamese mint or mint; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp lime juice; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated; 1 red chilli, finely sliced

Com Ga

Poached chicken served on turmeric-yellow rice cooked in the poaching stock, with a sharp onion salad, herbs and a ginger and fish sauce dip.

1 hr 15 min total Serves 4 servings Medium

Poach the chicken gently and use the liquid twice: that is the idea behind the dish. The same stock that cooks the bird cooks the rice, and each grain takes on its savour. Nothing is wasted, and the broth is rich and clean.

A whole small chicken, about 1.4 kg, goes into a pan of cold water with salt, ginger and shallots. Bring it to a bare simmer, never a boil, and poach for 35 minutes. Plunge the cooked chicken into iced water for 10 minutes. It stops the cooking and tightens the skin so it stays smooth.

For the rice, fry shallot in oil with turmeric, add washed rice, and cook with the strained stock in a lidded pan for 15 minutes. The ratio of stock to rice is about 1.3 to 1, a little less than for plain rice, as the grains soften in the chicken fat.

Shred the chicken and serve it on the yellow rice, with a salad of sliced red onion tossed in lime juice and salt, a handful of Vietnamese mint, and a dipping sauce of grated ginger, fish sauce, lime and chilli. A bowl of the stock goes alongside.

Com Ga: Step by Step

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Put the chicken in a pan with the water, salt, ginger and halved shallots. Bring to a bare simmer and poach gently for 35 minutes. Lift out and plunge into iced water for 10 minutes. Strain the stock.
Heat the oil, fry the sliced shallots with the turmeric for 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute. Add 400 ml of the stock, cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.
Toss the onion with the first measure of lime juice and the 1/2 tsp salt.
Mix the fish sauce, second measure of lime juice, grated ginger and chilli for the dipping sauce.
Shred the chicken. Serve on the rice with the onion salad, mint and dipping sauce, with a bowl of hot stock.

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Worth Getting Right

Skim the stock while poaching.
Do not boil the chicken; keep it at a bare simmer.
Use the rest of the stock as a soup the next day.

Common Substitutions & Variations

Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

What to Serve With It

Pickled cabbage · Chicken broth · Fried shallots · Chilli sauce

Keeping and Reheating

Keeps in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat the rice with a splash of water.

Nutrition per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

No Added Sugar