This beautifully-charred Cantonese-style chicken is full of flavour and easy to make at home. The meat stays juicy and tender. You will love the aroma of the spices coming out of oven and filling in your kitchen.
Serve 4
- I whole chicken, 2.25 kg (5 lbs) or 4 to 6 chicken leg quarters
Marinade
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar红糖
- 3-to 4 sprigs spring onions香葱,crushed and tie into knots
- 1 thumb ginger (crushed to loosen the fiber)生姜
- 3 star anise 八角
- 2 clove丁香
- 1 cinnamon stick (about 2-inch length) 桂皮
- 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine. Either Shaoxing wine or Chinese Rose wine is fine.
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce生抽
- 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce老抽
Spring Onion and Ginger dipping sauce:
- 10g ginger, skin removed and minced
1 spring onion, minced - 2 tablespoons, cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon, salt
- ½ teaspoon, sesame oil (optional)
Method:
- Use a Chinese cleaver to smash the spring onions and ginger to loosen the fibres. Tie the spring onions into knots (this makes it easier when you tuck them into the chicken cavity.)
2. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a deep bowl which the whole chicken can fit in with.
3. Plunge the clean chicken into the bowl. Let the bird sit in the bowl a few hours. Flip the chicken a couple times so the entire chicken is evenly soaked with liquid.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 425F°/210C°. Dab an roasting pan or metal baking dish with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and place the chicken inside it Close the oven.
5. Bake the chicken till the skin becomes golden or for about 55 to 60 minutes. Rotate the pan during baking process once or twice to allow for even cooking. How long does it take to cook a chicken? Generally, it takes between 10 minutes to 12 minutes per pound. The chicken is done when the juices from the thigh run clear (about 165 F°). A 4 to 5 pounds chicken would need to cook about 60 minutes in the oven of 425 F°. Move the chicken out of the oven. Let the chicken to sit for about 5 minutes.
6. In the meantime, prepare the ginger and spring onion dipping sauce, place minced ginger, spring onion, salt, and into a small bowl. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok until it starts to smoke. Pour the oil into the small bowl and blend well. Set aside.
7. Carve the bird. Enjoy the chicken with dipping sauce.
Tips:
- When the sugars caramelize, the chicken does take on a dark, almost blackened, hue. It won’t taste that way, though. If it starts to get too dark while cooking, simply tent the chicken loosely with foil and let it continue to cook. Or you can place the roasting pan in the lower rack of the oven for the first 30 minutes then move the pan to the middle rack for the remaining 20 to 30 minutes.
lets-playdough.com 