How to Make Vietnamese Ga Roti the Easy Way (Vietnamese Rotisserie Chicken)

Vietnamese Ga Roti is a delicious rotisserie chicken dish that leaves your chicken so juicy, tender, and full of aromatic flavors! Even though this traditional savory chicken dish translates to ga, meaning chicken, and roti, meaning rotisserie in Vietnamese, it actually isn’t cooked like a rotisserie chicken. 

Instead, the chicken is typically pan-fried for that crispy skin, then simmered in the marinade. We will walk through all of the steps on how to make Vietnamese Ga Roti so you can enjoy a little taste of Vietnamese culture and probably find your new favorite chicken dish!

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What Is Vietnamese Ga Roti?

Vietnamese Ga Roti is a delicious chicken dish that resembles a rotisserie chicken but isn’t cooked the same way. 

Because most households in Vietnam do not have ovens, the chicken would typically be pan-fried for that crispy skin, then simmered in the marinade.

Ga Roti is a common dish in the southern part of Vietnam, with Saigon, in particular, being a hotspot.

With its crispy outer layer and its tender, juicy inside, it makes sense that the “Roti” in Ga Roti would remind you of a roasted rotisserie chicken. 

Thankfully, this is much simpler to make. The flavor of Vietnamese Ga Roti is jam-packed with savory spices and just a hint of sweetness to keep you on your toes. 

The caramelized outside of this chicken will leave your mouth watering and wanting more right after you have already cooked it.

What You Should Keep In Mind

Choose your chicken based on personal preference. The standard part of the chicken to use for Vietnamese Ga Roti are drumsticks and chicken thighs.

Both chicken thighs and drumsticks typically have a lot of extra fat on them because of the skin that surrounds the meat, which makes for a more flavorful outcome.

While the skin is essential for adding crispiness to your Vietnamese Ga Roti, you might want to take some of it off if you aren’t a big fan of fatty meat.

However, I recommend leaving the skin on to lock in all of that flavor to activate that caramelized, crispy outside.

Ingredients for Vietnamese Ga Roti 

Vietnamese Ga Roti doesn’t need a long list of ingredients, but it does require specific ingredients. 

Typically, you need to make a special store run to your nearby Asian market to ensure that you have everything on your grocery list. 

But, my version of Vietnamese Ga Roti should have everything you need at most grocery stores like Whole Foods or Sprouts.

So here is everything you need to have on hand.

Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks are the easiest to eat and retain flavor when cooked in a marinade or seasoning. In addition, drumsticks and thighs are among the juiciest parts of the chicken.

Tamari

Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce made from fermented soybeans with a distinct umami flavor profile. Unlike other soy sauces, tamari is darker and less salty than regular soy sauces, making it even more delicious. 

If you are trying to avoid soy, you can substitute tamari with coconut aminos.

Five-Spice Powder

Five-spice powder is a delicious mixture of five essential spices: peppercorn, star anise, ground cloves, cinnamon, and fennel. These five spices are powerful flavor combinations used mainly in Chinese, Vietnamese, and Hawaiian cuisine. 

Honey

Honey is delicious no matter what kind of honey you decide to use — but my recommendation would be to use locally sourced honey. I love using honey as a refined sugar-free alternative for any recipes that typically call for sugar.

Garlic 

Fresh garlic is the way to go! While pre-packaged mince garlic is excellent in a pinch, you can’t beat the flavor of a fresh garlic bulb. If you have to use pre-minced garlic, that’s totally okay too!

Toasted Sesame Oil 

Typically if you are making an Asian dish, toasted sesame seed will be a must-have item in your pantry! The flavor profile has a rich, nutty, and (you guessed it) toasty taste.

Green Onion

Green onions are a popular ingredient typically used in garnishes and have a mild, sharp, and peppery flavor. In addition, just one stalk of green onion has two completely different flavor profiles.

Side Options

Since we don’t want to take away from the chicken being the star of the show, the sides for this dish are relatively simple. 

Serve with a side of rice (regular or sticky rice), sliced tomatoes, and some fresh cucumbers, and let that Ga Roti drumstick shine!

3 Tips for Serving Vietnamese Ga Roti

Tip 1. The traditional way to serve your Vietnamese Ga Roti is with jasmine rice (or sticky rice), fresh cucumber, and sliced tomatoes. 

Tip 2. If there is still any marinade left over in your pan, don’t toss it out! Instead, use the leftover marinade to pour over your chicken to add an extra level of flavor, or even pour it over your rice. 

Tip 3. Don’t forget to add fresh scallions to your Vietnamese Ga Roti and rice. Green onions aren’t just a pretty garnish, but they have incredible flavor. In addition, they will make the other flavors in your Ga Roti more pronounced. 

Vietnamese Ga Roti Recipe

Ingredients

Servings: 2

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of chicken drumsticks
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 3 tbsp scallions (chopped)
• serve with rice, tomatoes, and cucumbers

Cookware and Tools

• Baking pan
• Utility tongs
• Kitchen knife
• Measuring cups and spoons

Vietnamese Ga Roti Recipe (Step-by-Step)

Step 1. Prepare the Marinade

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the chicken drumsticks in a deep baking pan.

Prepare the marinade by combining tamari, five-spice powder, honey, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. Pour the marinade all over the chicken drumsticks until they’re all nicely coated.

Step 2. Bake the Chicken

Once the oven is fully preheated, place the baking pan on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes.

Then flip the chicken, and bake for another 20 minutes.

Finally, flip the chicken again once more time, and finish cooking for 10 minutes (for a total of 50 minutes).

Step 3. Serve

Garnish with green onions and serve immediately with rice, tomatoes, and cucumber.

You May Also Like:

• How to Cook Jasmine Rice in the Instant Pot
• Easy Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)
• Sticky Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
• Easy 30-Minute Instant Pot Pho Ga (Chicken Pho)
• Warming Instant Pot Chao Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Congee)
• How to Make Vietnamese Red Rice

FAQs 

1. Is This the Only Way You Can Make Vietnamese Ga Roti? 

No, variations aren’t uncommon since this is a popular household dish. So, we’ve shown you this recipe in the simplest way to achieve Vietnamese Ga Roti’s flavor and consistency. But, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean that it’s not delicious!

2. Can I Find These Ingredients if I Don’t Live Close to an Asian Market? 

Absolutely! There are a lot of stores that carry these ingredients these fresh ingredients, as well as the spices. So, for example, if the stores near you don’t have the Chinese five-spice powder, you can find it online to purchase. 

3. Do I Have to Use Drumsticks?

Drumsticks or chicken thighs are preferred. Chicken breast dries out faster while drumsticks and thighs retain all of the juiciness of the chicken and remain crispy on the outside. 

If you aren’t a fan of the skin on the drumsticks and thighs, then it will still taste fine without it.

4. Is Vietnamese Ga Roti Gluten-Free?

Yes, it is! Tamari is a gluten-free soy sauce, so you won’t worry about gluten in your chicken dish.

The Takeaway

Vietnamese Ga Roti is a deliciously juicy and flavorful chicken dish that resembles rotisserie chicken but is much easier to make. This dish has been curated over generations and has many different household ways of making it, but this was the simplest way to make this traditional Vietnamese dish.

Vietnamese Ga Roti (Vietnamese rotisserie chicken), is the perfect main course for your next meal that won’t require a lot of sides as this main dish steals the heart of our taste buds. 

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and star rating below! I’d love to hear from you.