Vietnam
Gà Bovril Recipe: Bovril Chicken

Gà Bovril Recipe: Bovril Chicken

Hanna Tran Hanna Tran | Updated October 16, 2026

Marmite chicken is probably better known than Bovril chicken (gà Bovril), but with only Bovril in the kitchen, Bovril chicken it was. Many people know the dish, yet it is hardly served at restaurants in Vietnam, so if you want to eat it, you have to make it yourself.

Gà Bovril Recipe: Bovril Chicken

There are two main stages. First you fry the chicken; then you cook the Bovril sauce and coat the chicken in it just before serving.

Ingredients

  • Chicken, in pieces
  • Bovril
  • Garlic and onions
  • Seasoning
  • Water
  • Cooking oil, for deep frying

How to make Bovril chicken

1. Marinate and fry the chicken

Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or longer. Deep fry it until golden brown, then set it aside.

Fried Bovril chicken on a plate

2. Cook the sauce and coat the chicken

Leave approximately 2 tablespoons of the cooking oil in the wok and sauté the garlic and onions until fragrant. Add the seasoning and water and bring it to the boil.

You need fast hands here, because the sauce can dry out pretty fast. Don’t fix that by adding too much water, though: the sauce turns too runny and isn’t as nice.

Return the fried chicken to the wok and stir well so the sauce coats every piece. Serve it hot with rice; the author confesses to eating more than 3 bowls of rice with it.

Bovril chicken with onions

This was a first attempt for the author, who failed three times before getting it right, so don’t be put off if your first batch isn’t perfect.

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