Mar 24th, 2008
Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Ga Ro Ti)
Growing up in Allentown, PA, my family would take trips down to Washington, DC to visit my great aunt and uncle. As an active kid, I always dreaded going down to DC because I had to spend most of the time cooped up inside my great aunt and uncle's apartment. The highlights of the trips were the amazing home cooked Vietnamese meals prepared by my great aunt. Her roasted chicken (ga ro ti) and sticky rice were my favorite dishes.
It's been over two decades since I had ga ro ti. I never see it at restaurants (at least in San Francisco), as most Viet places serve grilled chicken (ga nuong) with five spice. So last week, I decided to make Vietnamese roasted chicken. I called up my parents to get advice. Unfortunately, neither of my parents make the dish and my great aunt passed away several years ago. My dad said, "marinate it in soy, fish sauce, garlic and a little sugar"...like every other Viet dish, not much help there. I was on my own with this one.
I remember my great aunt pan fried her chicken low and slow. I believe this "roasting" method was used because traditional ovens weren't available in Vietnam back in the day, unless you were wealthy. My great aunt's chicken had an extra crispy skin and the meat was shreddable by hand, almost like a confit. To get this texture, the chicken needs to be cooked longer than normal.
I tried the pan frying technique and produced a good ga ro ti, but it required a lot of time and flipping of the chicken (props to my great aunt!). I debated covering the chicken, but was afraid the skin would get soft from the moist heat. Next, I tried browning the chicken in an oven-proof skillet and then finishing it off in the oven. I liked this method best. It produced a nice crispy skin and I didn't have to stand by the stove top. If you are thinking, why don't you skip the pan frying and just roast it in the oven, then my answer is... I have more control over browning with a skillet and the brown bits in the pan can be de-glazed to make a flavorful dirty sticky rice with scallions.
Hungry Bear and I enjoyed the ga ro ti so much, we made it again for Sunday night dinner along with the dirty sticky rice, stir-fried hollow greens and a light carrot cake for dessert. The chicken had a nice salty, garlicky flavor with a crackling skin. I never eat all of my chicken skin. I usually try a little and then pass the rest to Jane, who likes everything full fat. But the skin on this roasted chicken was so good, I wasn't sharing it with anyone! The perfect complement to the chicken was the dirty sticky rice, which has scallions and all the wonderful flavors from the de-glazed frying pan!
My great aunt's ga ro ti will always be number one in my heart. I may not have re-created her roasted chicken exactly, but I got pretty damn close!
SNDsters: Jane, Mark, Hungry Bear, Chuck
Vietnamese Roasted Chicken Recipe (Ga Ro Ti)
- 2 1/2 pounds chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, plus additional for frying
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- Trim excess skin and visible fat from chicken thighs using kitchen shears; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce and oil until well combined. Stir in garlic. Add the chicken thighs and evenly distribute the marinade between the thighs. For extra flavor, stuff a little garlic and marinade under the skin. Cover and marinate for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350°F. Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick, oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet skin side down, reduce heat to medium and fry until the skin is deep golden brown, about 6 - 8 minutes. Flip chicken and brown other side for 2-3 minutes; set chicken aside. Don't overcrowd chicken during browning; work in batches if necessary.
- Drain rendered fat from pan and remove any burnt garlic; leaving a thin film of oil in the skillet. Return chicken to skillet, skin side up and place into oven. Roast chicken for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the thighs. To check for doneness, poke the chicken with a knife; the juices should run clear (bone-in thighs 170°F internal temp, boneless thighs 165°F internal temp). Remove chicken from skillet and serve with dirty sticky rice.
Makes 4 servings with sticky rice
Dirty Sticky Rice with Scallions Recipe
- 6 cups cooked sweet/glutinous rice (3 cups uncooked rice)
- 10-12 green onions/scallions (white and green parts), sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons chicken stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- After roasting the chicken, drain rendered fat from the skillet, leaving a thin coating of grease. Place skillet on burner over medium heat. Add green onions and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. De-glaze skillet by adding a splash of chicken stock and heat through, about 30 seconds. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add cooked sticky rice to pan. Using two wooden spoons, fold the scallions evenly into rice. The rice should be a light brown color filled with scallions and de-glazed chicken and garlic bits.
Makes 4-6 servings
24 Comments on “Vietnamese Roasted Chicken (Ga Ro Ti)”
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Wow - this is destined to become a favorite in my home.
I love Vietnamese food! This chicken looks so delicious. I love fish sauce so I was instantly drawn to this dish. I’m going to make it this weekend!
You should come down here. I can think of at least three restaurants in Little Saigon that all serve super crispy ga ro ti. :)
My mom makes this with a 5 spice marinade and Cornish game hens. I love eating the crispy skin.
that looks intensely wonderful - i’ll be trying this soon. plus, sticky rice, yum!
Oh, I am trying the chicken recipe this week. If I were served that in a restaurant, I’d be thrilled.
Both the chicken and the rice look amazing. I love braised Vietnamese chicken, so I can’t wait to try this.
lifeinrecipes, Eat Me Outta Here, Michelle, Lydia, AppetiteforChina, if any of you make the chicken, let me know how it turns out.
WC, I was just talking to a friend in Irvine about having to visit Little Saigon! I almost put five spice in the marinade, but decided to keep the flavors simple. The cornish game hens sound good!
That looks and sounds gorgeous. It’s quite similar to the Chinese roast chicken that I make, using rice wine, honey, light and dark soy sauces, garlic and 5 spice powder; no fish sauce. I agree that chicken legs are best for this, and definitely browning in a pan before going into the oven is the best way to get the crispy skin. I should try your version some time, thanks for sharing the recipe.
Like WC, I’m all for the 5 spice in this recipe but I think you’re on to something with pan-searing it first before oven-roasting. I remember watching Ming Tsai do the same thing for one of his roast chicken recipes. I’ve tried it too and it does give the chicken a nice, deep golden color and very crispy skin.
On a slightly random note, one of my friends has a fancy fire pit in his backyard and I’m seriously considering making it into a real rotisserie for ga roti. Now, if I can just find a clockwork spit…
Do you actually have a recipe for the “sweet/glutinous” rice and, if so, would you mind posting it? I can’t seem to find it on your tags or in your archives. It would be really helpful here. This looks like a gorgeous recipe.
dj, we use a rice cooker to make glutinous rice, but here are two other methods to make sweet rice…
Stove-top pot method
Steamer method
The pot method is easier and faster.
I just made this last night, both the chicken and dirty rice (I did not alter the recipe at all). Really fantastic and not difficult to make. Much more flavorful than I expected. OMG, the rice was sooo good too. Thank you. This is going into my permanent binder for repeat recipes.
Chuck, thanks so much! I prefer the stove-top pot method too, by the looks of it. One last (perhaps stupid) question: should the rice be prepared the day ahead and then chilled until use, similar to how one might do fried rice? Or can it be used with this recipe right after the rice has been cooked?
Thanks again. This blog has become daily reading for me, and I’m swimming through all of your archives, as well!
My Mom makes her own version that’s very similar, I can never tell what her proportions are though for the ingredients. She pan roasts the chicken as well but she covers the chicken in the beginning and then sears the skin in a heavy pan at the end to make it cripsy instead of sticking it in the oven. Don’t know if that’ll work but we generally eat it with tomato rice. Really good still…
Helen, yay! I’m really happy it’s going into your repeat recipe binder!
dj, freshly cooked rice is best. It’s much easier to fold in the scallions when the rice is fresh and warm.
Crystal, I’ll have to try your mom’s technique next time. I don’t think I’ve ever had tomato rice… shallots, tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce and jasmine rice?
Chuck, I made your chicken today. It was outstanding and really so easy. I could eat this once a week no problem.
I am making this now and the house smells of garlic and….
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
I already tasted the rice, so good…
I can’t wait to make this dish and the sticky rice sounds so yummy. I am always looking for another way to make chicken & rice. This is a great alternative to just the regular old bland jasmine rice and I will try grilling the chicken since it is easier for us. Also, I have a version similar to yours but mine is with orange juice, mirin, and sake, no
a friend just send me your link and I am looking forward to cooking w/ your recipes.
I was eying this recipe and showed it to my boyfriend. He ended up making it for me this weekend! Keep in mind that he does not cook at all! He told me he eyeballed the amounts so I was a little worried. But it came out so awesomely good! So good that if he keeps making this dish for me I will fall in love with him! He couldn’t find sticky rice in a small bag so he used Thai jasmine rice instead and threw in some cilantro with the scallions! It was lick my fingers, fall in love with you good! I’m going to get him to guest post on my blog! Thanks for the recipe!
I think I want to try this in my Ronco rotisserie oven to see if I can cut the fat. http://eatmeouttahere.blogspot.....et-it.html
But there will be no yummy flavored sticky rice!
I hope you don’t mind I linked your post on my site! =)
I just ate! This roast chicken looks so darn good.
Must.
Make.
Soon.
Found you today through Tamarind and Thyme, and thought I’d give this a spin for dinner. Didn’t alter anything with the chicken but only managed to marinade for a couple of hours, and I added a bunch of sad wilted basil to the green onions for the dirty rice which worked really well.
The food and your instructions were excellent - definitely a keeper. My boyfriend’s asking if we can have it again soon, and our little kitchen here in London smells great, thanks Chuck! You’re on my RSS feed now :-)