Since ancient times, Quang Tri Province has been famous for ‘Cua’ chicken, a small-sized chicken raised by residents in the hilly areas of Cam Nghia and Cam Chinh communes (also known as Cua land) in Cam Lo District.

A whole boiled ‘Cua’ chicken

In the rich basalt red land, the chicken is famous for indigenous quality flesh benefiting from termites as the staple nutritious feed.

A ‘Cua’ chicken weighs about 1-1.2 kg. Residents in the Cua land recommended that people should choose chicken with long slender legs; short and pointed crest; sharp nails; and small, yellow and slightly curved beak.

In Da Nang, dinners can visit the Mai Eco Food restaurant located at 37 Nguyen Khoai Street, Hoa Cuong Bac Ward, Hai Chau District, to enjoy Quang Tri Province’s specialty. The venue also offers fresh chickens, or preliminarily processed and marinated chickens, to those who want to organize a barbecue at home.

A wide range of dishes from chickens are served at the Mai Eco Food, including chicken hotpot with giang leaves, grilled chicken with honey, braised chicken with gingers and toothpick onions, steamed chicken with lemon leaves, fried chicken with fish sauce, and chicken porridge cooked with green beans.

Processed ‘Cua’ chickens are packed and vacuum-sealed by Mai Eco Food to keep them fresh for a long time, as well as ensure food hygiene and safety.

According to the Mai Eco Food’s staff, Cua chicken is best eaten when it's just cooked and eaten within 30 minutes, because at that time, the chicken is still hot, giving off a distinctive aroma and flavor, stimulating dinners’ taste and sense of smell.

In addition, this type of chicken is quite small, so it should be steamed whole. Dinners eat the steamed chicken by themselves by tearing up and dipping it with a mixture of salt, pepper and lemon, or chili salt mixed with lemon leaves.

The boiled water can be used to cook with giang leaves and fresh bamboo shoots that are served with white rice. In addition, braised chicken with toothpick onions is also a favorite dish of many families.

Reporting by HUYNH LE - Translating by M.DUNG