Yia Vang’s Chicken 3 Ways

Yia is the owner and chef of the James Beard Award-nominated restaurant Union Hmong Kitchen in Minneapolis.

Serves 6-8

Chicken Stock

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken carcass
• 3 stalks lemongrass
• 1 large knob of ginger
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 whole onion
• 1 gallon of water

Instructions

1. Place the chicken carcass and whole lemongrass, ginger, garlic and onion into a large stock pot.

2. Cover the ingredients with 1 gallon of water.

3. Heat the pot over medium heat until it reaches a soft roiling boil.

4. Allow it to simmer for an extended period of time to extract all the flavor. Once done, strain the stock and discard any solids.

 

Seared Airline Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 airline chicken breasts
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped shallots
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• ¼ cup chicken stock

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 F.

2. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

3. Heat canola oil in a pan over high heat.

4. Sear the chicken, skin-side down, for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.

5. Flip the chicken and transfer the pan to the oven for 8 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees.

6. Let the chicken rest.

7. Add ginger, garlic, shallots and fish sauce to deglaze the pan. Add chicken stock and let it reduce to make a sauce on the chicken.

 

Roasted Chicken with Sweet Chili Glaze

Ingredients

• 4 chicken quarters (legs)
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup honey
• 2 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped shallots
• 1 Thai chili, chopped
• ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
• ½ cup rice wine vinegar

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 F.

2. In a small bowl, mix paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to create a dry rub.

3. Rub the dry spice mixture over the chicken quarters.

4. Roast the chicken in the oven for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

5. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the honey, garlic, shallots, Thai chili, cilantro and rice wine vinegar to make the glaze.

6. Once chicken is cooked, brush the glaze onto the roasted chicken.

7. Return the chicken to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

8. Serve the roasted chicken with the sweet chili glaze.

 

Chef’s tip: Yia Vang’s Chicken 3 Ways uses all parts of the chicken, which makes a Bell & Evans Whole Broiler Chicken the perfect choice for this recipe.