Roast Chicken and Broccoli with Nuoc Cham Vinaigrette (Gà Rô Ti)
The salty-sweet-tang of nuoc cham — Vietnam’s beloved dipping sauce — gives this brilliant chicken dish its verve. Adapted from Andrea Nguyen’s Ever-Green Vietnamese, it’s super flavorful, punchy and fairly easy to acheive — perfect for weeknight dinner. Or double or triple everything and invite a crowd.
READ: Cookbooks We Love: Vegetables are the stars of Andrea Nguyen’s ‘Ever-Green Vietnamese’
In her cookbook, Nguyen gives instructions for either a half-chicken or two pounds of thighs or whole legs. For simplicity’s sake, we’re focusing on the dark meat; either whole legs or thighs work great. She also offers choices of shallots or onions and fresno or jalapeño chile. We tested the recipe with whole legs, shallots and fresno chile. For the seasoning paste, we used 2 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce.
The recipe calls for broccoli crowns. If you’re using whole broccoli, save the stems for soup.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 pounds / 907 grams large chicken thighs or whole legs
1/4 cup / 30 grams chopped shallots or yellow onions
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fine sea salt
2 to 3 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
1/2 cup lightly packed / 18 grams chopped cilantro sprigs
3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or peanut), plus more as needed
1 pound broccoli crowns, cut into florets with 1/2-inch / 1.25 cm-thick stem ends
For the Nuoc Cham Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons lukewarm water, plus more as needed
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, plus more as needed
3/4 teaspoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus more as needed
2 1/4 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
1 fresno or jalapeño chile, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
To finish
1/3 cup / 10 grams mint leaves, torn if large
Instructions
1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and put it on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Using a mortar and pestle, mash, pound and stir together the shallots, garlic, brown sugar, pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt until you achieve a rough wet paste. Add the fish sauce, then stir in the cilantro. (Alternatively, use a small food processor to grind the aromatics and spices, then add the fish sauce and pulse in the cilantro.)
2. Using your fingers, loosen the chicken skin from the flesh. Rub about one-fourth of the seasoning paste onto the underside of the chicken pieces. Use the remaining paste to season the flesh under the skin, doing your best to distribute the paste. Rub 1 to 2 teaspoons of the neutral oil on the skin sides. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside at room temperature.
3. Set the oven racks in the middle and lowest positions and heat the oven to 425 degrees F / 218 C. Line a second baking sheet with parchment. When the oven is ready, slide the chicken onto the middle rack and set a timer for 25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toss the broccoli with 2 or 3 pinches of salt and about 2 1/2 tablespoons neutral oil and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Made the nuoc cham vinaigrette: In a smallish bowl, combine the water, sugar, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and fish sauce. Taste the sauce, and add more lime juice, sugar or fish sauce as needed for a tart-sweet-salty balance. Add the chile, if using.
4. After roasting the chicken for 25 minutes, slide the broccoli onto the lower rack. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the chicken is browned with crisp skin, and the temperature registered 155 F / 69 C on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thiREgh; its juices should run relatively clear. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. However, keep the oven on and move the broccoli to the middle rack to let it roast for 10 minutes more, or until the stems are tender and the tops have brown patches.
5. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter, and add the broccoli. Pour about half the nuoc cham vinaigrette over all, and offer the remainder on the side. Scatter the mint all over the chicken and serve.
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Roast Chicken and Broccoli with Nuoc Cham Vinaigrette (Gà Rô Ti)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds / 907 grams large chicken thighs or whole legs
- 1/4 cup / 30 grams chopped shallots or yellow onions
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Fine sea salt
- 2 to 3 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
- 1/2 cup lightly packed / 18 grams chopped cilantro sprigs
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola or peanut), plus more as needed
- 1 pound broccoli crowns, cut into florets with 1/2-inch / 1.25 cm-thick stem ends
- 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, plus more as needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, plus more as needed
- 3/4 teaspoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus more as needed
- 2 1/4 teaspoons fish sauce, plus more as needed
- 1 fresno or jalapeño chile, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
- 1/3 cup / 10 grams mint leaves, torn if large
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and put it on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Using a mortar and pestle, mash, pound and stir together the shallots, garlic, brown sugar, pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt until you achieve a rough wet paste. Add the fish sauce, then stir in the cilantro. (Alternatively, use a small food processor to grind the aromatics and spices, then add the fish sauce and pulse in the cilantro.)
- Using your fingers, loosen the chicken skin from the flesh. Rub about one-fourth of the seasoning paste onto the underside of the chicken pieces. Use the remaining paste to season the flesh under the skin, doing your best to distribute the paste. Rub 1 to 2 teaspoons of the neutral oil on the skin sides. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside at room temperature.
- Set the oven racks in the middle and lowest positions and heat the oven to 425 degrees F / 218 C. Line a second baking sheet with parchment. When the oven is ready, slide the chicken onto the middle rack and set a timer for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss the broccoli with 2 or 3 pinches of salt and about 2 1/2 tablespoons neutral oil and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Made the nuoc cham vinaigrette: In a smallish bowl, combine the water, sugar, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and fish sauce. Taste the sauce, and add more lime juice, sugar or fish sauce as needed for a tart-sweet-salty balance. Add the chile, if using.
- After roasting the chicken for 25 minutes, slide the broccoli onto the lower rack. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the chicken is browned with crisp skin, and the temperature registered 155 F / 69 C on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh; its juices should run relatively clear. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. However, keep the oven on and move the broccoli to the middle rack to let it roast for 10 minutes more, or until the stems are tender and the tops have brown patches.
- Arrange the chicken on a serving platter, and add the broccoli. Pour about half the nuoc cham vinaigrette over all, and offer the remainder on the side. Scatter the mint all over the chicken and serve.
