Why is boiled chicken a dish that is not allowed to be lacking in Vietnamese dishes?

Why does the Vietnamese New Year tray have to have chicken, which cannot be replaced with any other meat?

For Vietnamese people, the rice tray on the Lunar New Year is not just a meal but also contains deep meanings of beliefs and traditional culture. Offerings, especially in Tet trays, are to remember ancestors, to pray for the blessing of souls for the living, to continue the good tradition left by the ancients. Therefore, there are dishes that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years, although the custom of each house, each region, and each period can be added or removed at will, such as boiled chicken.

Today, many delicious, exotic and fancy foods are presented in the Tet offering tray, and boiled chicken is no longer a sought-after dish because it is only eaten a few times a year. People also have to make vermicelli, chicken salad, chicken porridge, chicken noodle soup... to finish off the pieces of chicken no one bothers to pick up, "redundant" accumulated after the offering trays. But which house, on solemn occasions, festivals, especially the tray of offerings on the Lunar New Year, does not have boiled chicken. Because, not only a dish, boiled chicken is an indispensable offering item in the Vietnamese people's death anniversary custom.

Why is the Tet tray never without boiled chicken?

Why does the Vietnamese New Year tray have to have chicken, which cannot be replaced with any other meat? According to folklorist Nguyen Hung Vi, since ancient times, the rooster has become a sacred animal in many belief systems and worshiped as offerings. For Vietnamese folklore beliefs, the rooster is an even closer symbol, for many reasons.

Chicken is a bird that has been domesticated by mankind since the very beginning. The rooster has a habit of crowing in the morning, the sound of crowing is far away, an alarm for the whole community, it becomes a sign of time for people to be aware of the date category. Hens are fertile and skillful in raising chicks, have the ability to reproduce in large numbers, and are useful for breeding. Chickens eat tree seeds and small shrimp, small creatures, less competitive with human food. Moreover, the chicken's small stature is suitable for many different economic situations, making it convenient to become an offering.

It is about the practical aspect, but also the spiritual aspect, the chicken, especially the rooster, is very important in the sun worshiping religion with the inhabitants of wet rice cultivation. Chickens call the sun to create a category of time, chickens peck the lightning god when it comes down to hit people (In the past, every time there was a storm, the ancient Vietnamese used to call chickens as a way to "threat" thunder).

The custom of offering boiled chicken on the occasion of Tet is probably also from a folk tale, saying that in the past, when the Jade Emperor saw the cold and damp ground, he sent ten suns day and night to shine. But when the earth was dry and cracked, but the Jade Emperor still hadn't called the sun back, humans and plants were miserable because of the drought.

A brave man skilled in archery shot down 9 suns. The sun was so scared at last, so it flew up high and hid, never to come out again. The ground was cold and dark as before. Humans and animals saw that, and tried all kinds of ways to call the sun, but failed. Until, a healthy rooster stretched out his neck and let out a loud crowing, making the sun curiously look down and forget the fear of descending, the world brightened up again. In the evening, when the chickens go up to the coop, the sun hides again.

The night of the death of the dead, that is the darkest time of the year, is also the time when the sun hides the deepest. The custom of offering a rooster sacrifice from there, in the hope that it will wake up the sun, so that the new year will be filled with bright light, favorable rain and wind. The chicken, from a familiar pet in the "six cattle" has become a cultural code associated with the sun-worshipping religion of the wet-rice agricultural nation, present in many folk documents and beliefs. , legends as well as daily speech.

Looking for a "super product" chicken

Boiled chicken in traditional Tet trays, therefore, is not simply a dish, but also a sacred ritual, a bridge between the human world and the divine world. The starting offering tray for the Lunar New Year is a New Year's Eve tray, simple or sophisticated, depending on the house, but indispensable a flower rooster tied with fairy wings, mouth holding a bright red rose.

Choose chicken

Chickens offered on New Year's Eve and the Lunar New Year, must be flower roosters - newly grown chickens that have just crowed, have not yet sprouted, and have never stepped on the roof. On any other occasion, one can offer a castrated rooster - fat, heavy, tender meat, but during Tet, it must be a flower rooster. The old roosters are also only used for eating, not for sacrifice, because they are no longer "pure", but the meat is black and the bones are hard. Dong Tao chickens or hybrid chickens, even if they are big and strong, cannot be used as offerings, because their legs are rough and it is difficult to create elegant shapes. As for hens, which can only be eaten, absolutely no offerings.

In the past, in the countryside, people often bought mature roosters to raise from January, at the latest in early December, when they weighed about 1.3 - 1.5kg, took the first crows and were "followed by" watch" closely so as not to kick the roof, when Tet is when they are "ready". Nowadays, people do not have the conditions to make such a straight hole, but chicken farms are also very attentive to separate raising, ensuring the supply of qualified chickens.

According to a veteran seller of boiled chicken, the top-quality rooster to offer, most importantly, must have a bright red crest, evenly high papillae, no bruises or scars.

Next is to "scan" the whole body to choose chickens with smooth, shiny feathers, long tail feathers; the breast feathers are palpable, the chicken armpits are thick, the blood is visible but there are no bruises; dry and sharp beak; slender legs, no hard scales, no broken nails; The rooster float is pink, dry, and free of mucus or wet feces. That chicken, must be fresh, quick, bright eyes, but he has all the factors that he is lethargic, his eyes drooping like a sleepy man, his head is down, he should not buy it.

That is on the condition that the housewife is leisurely, going to see the chickens while she is still alive. As for pre-meat chickens, the only way is to rely on the average weight, look at the whole chicken to see if there are any scars or bruises (the young chickens are often drawn to fighting and pecking each other for fun); Is the crest beautiful? shiny skin, less fat, touching the meat can certainly be used for offerings.

Butchering the chicken and tying the chicken

If you choose a good chicken, you also have to know how to tie the fairy wings, and know how to boil it well to be worthy of the selection. Chickens absolutely do not tie their legs "chained" but must be locked in bu for at least half a day to prevent blood from pooling in the legs, more carefully, they should separate the flock to not fight. When dissecting chickens, it is also necessary to cut the blood and eviscerate skillfully so that the cut in the kite is not revealed, and the abdomen is not torn.

To worship the year-end, people can tie the fairy wings in adoration, the two wings are tied close to the neck, the chicken's mouth holds two wings, the neck is raised high; or the shape of the wings is slightly spread, the head is raised, the neck is stretched like a cock about to crow. There are also creative places to create beautiful chicken poses, but it is important to keep the chicken skin from tearing and the wings from breaking. Chicken legs will be folded, close to the thighs or stuffed into the abdomen, creating the posture of the chicken kneeling down to worship.

Boil chicken

Boiling chicken must also be careful to get a beautiful finished product, without being skewed or bruised. When boiling chicken, you must keep the fishing rod intact so that the fat inside the chicken is not secreted, the chicken skin will be bright, stretchy, no matter how cold it is, it will not dry out. The pot of boiling chicken must also be a large pot so that the chicken is submerged and cooked evenly on both sides.

Offering

The ancients believed that finding a chicken "Ke Vuong" to offer to gods and ancestors during the New Year's Day would help homeowners be happy, convenient, and lucky for the whole year. According to folklorists, the offering is as important as the choice of chicken.

People must loosen up before making offerings, give the chickens a red or bright red rose that is fragrant, has no worms, and does not bloom too big; rather than using dark velvet roses or other colored roses. If you can't find a rose, you can replace it with a flower-trimmed horn chili put in the chicken's mouth. The part of the gizzard and chicken blood must be placed below the abdomen, creating a bold and full figure.

During Tet, the presentation of chickens also needs to be done properly. Chicken offerings in New Year's Eve must be displayed on an outdoor tray, with the head facing the street, the fishing rod is facing the house with the meaning of adoring the sun, welcoming the morning light shining into the house, welcoming the Hanh mandarin to govern the new year. pass.

As for chickens to worship ancestors on the Lunar New Year, there are houses where the chicken's head is turned towards the incense bowl, the fishing float turns out; Some people turn their heads outside like New Year's Eve offerings. But in fact, the chickens displayed on the ancestral tray do not have to turn their heads inward or outward, but place the chicken horizontally with the altar, in which, the chicken's head must face the incense bowl to properly worship.

Chopping chicken

As for the boiled chicken in the platter, the cock or the hen can enjoy it, but it must be cut and arranged on the plate. The ancients have passed on the secret of chopping chicken "a sharp knife is not as strong as millet". In addition to sharp knives and heavy cutting boards, the chicken chopper (usually a man in the house) must also have strong hands, cut it firmly so that the well-boiled chicken is not "broken".

After the thigh is cut, the thigh cheek must also be cut along the armpit to the back to form a parallelogram. The chicken wings are also cut in the armpit direction, but slightly intruding on the breast to give the wings more meat. The neck and back must be squared vertically. Definitely, trim each piece, piece by piece, and then put it on a plate, arranged so that the skin part is exposed outside, the bone part, the meat is less skin hidden below. A layer of lemon leaves that are not too old to give off a pungent smell, not too young to crush the leaves, have to be just the right level of fragrant, greasy, thinly sliced thinly sprinkled bread, that's the end of the presentation.

That's it, the dish that the traditional people keep every year, despite the unintentional complaints, even "estranged" of young people that boiled chicken is not attractive, turns out to contain important meanings. important in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people. Finding a standard, properly presented "cheese king" is not only a thoroughness, showing cooking skills, but also a heart of respect to the ancestors, respect and continuation of the tradition of the family. The nation has thousands of years of culture.

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