Quick overview:
  • • 1. Prepare to boil the chicken
  • • 2. How to boil chicken for offerings that is delicious and beautiful
  • • 3. How many minutes should I boil the chicken for?

1. Prepare to boil the chicken.

To boil a delicious chicken for offerings with a glossy golden skin and an attractive shape, you must be extremely focused and meticulous throughout the preparation and boiling process. The secret to boiling a beautiful chicken for offerings lies in three main steps: selecting the chicken, butchering and shaping the chicken, and boiling the chicken.

How to choose a chicken for offerings

To have a beautiful chicken for the offering, we must first choose a good chicken.

To have a beautiful chicken for the offering, we must first choose a good chicken (Photo: VTC News).

You should choose a rooster that weighs around 1.2-1.5 kg after slaughter. Avoid buying a chicken that is too large, as it will look less appealing when served on a platter, and the meat will be tougher.

Choose chickens with bright red combs that are evenly raised, smooth feathers, agile movements, taut yellow skin, a full breast with some darker yellow areas like the wings, breast, and back; free from bruises, discoloration, black spots, bumps, and small legs.

For ready-to-eat chicken, choose those with naturally light yellow skin that is thin and even all over the body, firm meat, a small tail, and little fat in the neck and thigh areas.

How to butcher and shape a chicken for offerings.

For chickens offered as sacrifices, you can't just butcher them open like you would for regular stir-fries, fried chickens, or boiled chickens. Instead, you have to gut them to create a nice shape and prevent the skin from shrinking. The legs should be cut off at the elbow to avoid skin shrinkage during boiling, which can cause the thighs to crack.

To create the "bowing chicken" pose, use a sharp knife to make incisions on both sides of the chicken's neck, then tuck the wings towards the mouth through these two slits. Care and skill are needed to ensure the wings don't bend or break, but remain pointing outwards.

If you prefer a "flying" chicken shape, gently bend the two wings towards the back and tie the joints of the wings together securely. Note that the tightness should be moderate to avoid creating creases or tearing the skin after boiling.

2. How to boil chicken for offerings that is delicious and beautiful.

Place the chicken in a deep pot with its belly facing down, along with ginger, crushed onions, and a pinch of salt. Pour enough water to cover the chicken and place the pot on the stove. Adding the chicken to the pot while the water is still cold helps the meat cook gradually from the outside in, preventing the skin from cracking. If using frozen chicken, thaw it completely before boiling.

The chicken offered as a sacrifice is delicious and beautiful (Photo: Dan Viet)

Because the skin on the belly, which touches the bottom of the pot, is very prone to cracking, the best practice is to place the chicken in a deep bowl before putting it into the pot of water. This helps to maintain the shape of the chicken for the offering and ensures the skin remains beautiful and doesn't crack.

To ensure the chicken offered as a sacrifice has golden skin, is free from blood stains, and doesn't spoil, the chicken's offal and blood should be boiled in a separate small pot, not together with the main chicken.

3. How many minutes should I boil the chicken for?

When boiling chicken for offerings, adjust the heat to medium, slightly open the lid, and skim off any foam that forms on the surface as soon as it boils. After boiling for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let the chicken soak in the pot for another 15-20 minutes; this prevents the chicken skin from shrinking and cracking.
To keep the chicken skin crisp and prevent it from losing its color, after the chicken is cooked, let it cool down, then remove it and immerse it in cooled boiled water with a few ice cubes added.

To make the chicken skin shinier and golden brown, you can mix chicken fat with a little turmeric juice and brush a thin layer all over the chicken's surface.

The method for boiling chicken for offerings described above is simple, isn't it? I hope you get a beautiful, golden, crack-free chicken to offer as a sacrifice during the Lunar New Year's Eve celebration of the Year of the Snake 2025.