The age of a bird, carefully raised for health and flavour, is an often overlooked yet crucial factor when choosing superior quality chicken.

Which is why we want to introduce you to cooking with pullet, a young hen that is nurtured through a slow growth process of 100–120 days, well before it begins laying eggs. This extended period, three to four times longer than the typical 34–40 days for commercial chickens, is crucial for allowing our birds to live a happy and healthy life, naturally developing a superior meat texture and a more nuanced flavour profile.

In culinary traditions across France and Asia, such slow-grown young hens are in high demand for their delicate taste and tenderness. This is a far cry from older hens of 360–400 days, often used for soups where much of the inherent flavour has diminished.

Its skin is golden and springy, its flesh is sweet, tender and has a surprising umami element. This is well-suited to gentler cooking methods such as poaching and steaming. Pullet may not be commonplace in Australian kitchens, but its reputation as a delicacy spans cultures and traditions around the world.

In Asian culture, cooking a whole pullet during Lunar New Year is said to bring prosperity. For French cooking, while viewed as a top quality product, this young hen is known for its premium flavour and cooked during celebratory occasions In Japanese culture, torisashi — otherwise known as chicken sashimi — uses pullet because of its superior tenderness and sweeter flavour profile. If you’re eating raw, thinly sliced chicken, then you want the best there is.

Cooking pullet at home adds a new dimension to a dish. But we realise it can also be daunting, so we’ve enlisted chef Jung Eun Chae of Victoria’s acclaimed Chae restaurant to show you how it’s done. The Korean-born chef is known for preserving her cultural traditions while reimagining its cuisine for modern diners, creating an innovative fusion that earned her The Age Good Food Guide 2025 Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year award.

“Cooking with Aurum’s slow-grown pullet was a completely different experience— it had depth, structure, and a real presence on the plate. It held up beautifully to slow cooking and brought a richness that truly elevated the dish,” says Chae.

Her recipe for Samgyetang is below. This traditional Korean chicken soup is made by simmering a whole young hen stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng and medicinal herbs. Like all good chicken soups, it’s believed to have restorative properties while also being delicious. Chae has reimagined the traditional single-serving of small chicken into a larger, shareable version perfect for enjoying with friends and family at the dinner table in Australia.

This reinvention features Aurum Poultry Co.’s 100-day slow-grown pullet, known for its rich flavour and tender texture.

Samgyetang by Chef Chae

Serves: 2-4

Time: approx. 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 × 1-1.3kg Aurum Poultry Co. Fook Wong Chicken - Pullet (whole chicken, trimmed of excess fat)

• 250g glutinous rice

• 120g chopped spring onion (scallion)

• 1 packet of Samgyetang soup base (available at Korean grocers or Asian supermarkets)

• 60g garlic cloves, peeled

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Step 1: Prepare the pullet

1. Trim any excess fat around the body cavity and remove the head and feet if desired for presentation.

Step 2: Stuff the chicken

1. Rinse the glutinous rice twice to remove starch.
2. Fill the chicken cavity with the rice, half the soup base and half the garlic cloves.
3. Use toothpicks to secure the opening tightly to keep the stuffing in place during cooking.

Step 3: Add the herbs and soup base

1. Place the stuffed chicken in a pressure cooker. Add the remaining soup base contents and scatter the rest of the garlic cloves around the bird.
2. Pour over just enough water to submerge the chicken, ensuring the cooking liquid incorporates all the flavours.

Step 4: Cook the soup

1. Turn the heat to high until the pressure cooker whistles, then maintain high heat for another 2 minutes.
2. Reduce to medium heat and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to rest in the residual heat for 10 minutes before opening the lid.

Step 5: Serve

1. Carefully remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and transfer it to a large serving bowl.
2. Divide the soup into two portions — serve one half with the chicken and reserve the other half for the rice porridge.
3. Before serving, season the chicken and soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Special bonus recipe: Rice porridge

1. Turn the pressure cooker to low heat and leave the leftover rice at the bottom to scorch slightly, creating a rich, thickened porridge texture (approximately 15 minutes).
2. Season lightly with salt and garnish with chopped spring onion. Serve warm as a comforting side dish to accompany the soup and chicken.

This Samgyetang recipe is a delightful balance of tradition and creation by Chef Chae, making it an excellent centrepiece for family meals or friends’ gatherings.

You can find the slow-grown Fook Wong pullet chicken and elevated poultry products from Aurum Poultry Co. at your local Asian poultry shop or Asian supermarket. Alternatively, enjoy the convenience of online shopping by visiting aurumpoultryco.au (available for Melbourne and Sydney metro areas).