Hung Chicken from Lạc Sơn: Exploring a Local Dish at Si Dining

Flavor is decided long before it reaches the stove. It starts with a stricter choice: leaving the kitchen behind, traveling directly to the farm to remain present throughout every stage of rearing. The Hung Chicken at SI Dining rests at the intersection of modern Italian culinary thought and the depth of Lạc Sơn produce, cared for with precise detail from the very first egg.

From Hybrid Eggs in Lạc Sơn

Rather than buying full-grown chickens or spent laying hens, the kitchen returns to the absolute starting point: hybrid gamefowl eggs in Lạc Sơn. The eggs are carefully selected before being incubated, ensuring every chick hatches with strong, consistent genetics.

Once hatched, the chicks are never turned out onto the hills right away. For their first month, the flock is raised together in a fixed area to gradually adjust to the local water, soil, and mountain climate. Only when their bone structure is solid and their immunity fully developed are the birds officially released to range freely across the hillsides.

This process operates through a local cooperative in partnership with the Lạc Sơn government, where farming families are provided feed grinders free of charge. Saying goodbye to commercial feed, the flock’s nutrition relies entirely on seasonal local produce: sometimes corn or fresh cassava, other times sweet sugarcane or ripe jackfruit. Everything is blended with wild herbs, using sweet potato leaves as a natural binding agent. This prevents the birds from picking around the herbs while allowing nutrients to settle deep into the muscle fiber, creating a rich, fragrant, and distinct flavor profile.

Small-Scale Rearing for Uncompromised Quality

A process standing completely apart from industrial farming logic. Once the initial acclimation period ends, the birds are distributed to individual village households, with each family taking on a maximum of 30 chickens. This small scale allows farmers to stay close and care for each bird every single day.

Only hybrid gamefowl reaching a maximum of three months of age meet the selection standard. Live weight at harvest ranges strictly between 1.5 kg and 1.8 kg. This is the optimal window when the meat achieves ideal firmness and rich flavor, without turning tough or stringy.

Kitchen Prep and Three Days of Air-Hanging

That same restraint extends into the kitchen. The bird is never split open at the breast. The butcher makes only a small cut at the tail and a short slit near the neck to preserve the whole structure of the meat.

Throughout preparation, water contact is kept to an absolute minimum. Keeping the surface completely dry is essential before entering the aging process. The head, feet, and wingtips are trimmed off to simmer into a rich, clear broth. The rest of the body is hung continuously for three days under strictly controlled humidity.

After three days of air-hanging, the outer skin sheds moisture and dries, forming a natural protective barrier that prevents bacteria and holds the moisture inside. As a result, when the dish arrives at the table, each piece of meat retains a plump, tender structure, carrying the natural sweetness of the Lạc Sơn hills