Chinese Style Roast Chicken
Serving Suggestion for Chinese style roast chicken with broccoli and Chinese steamed buns.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder for dusting the cavity
- 2 teaspoons Salt
Marinade
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce for color
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 slices ginger 1" thick
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder for marinade
For Basting
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
Instructions
Instructions
- Lightly dust the inside of the chicken with 1/2 tsp of five spice powder and salt. Be generous with the salt.
- In a large bowl combine the light and dark soy sauce, ginger, sugar and the five spice powder. Coat the chicken with this mixture and make sure to rub it into the skin. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours. (Preferably overnight)
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking.
- Drain the chicken of the marinade and set it on a roasting pan with a rack to allow for the heat to flow around and under the chicken. Do not discard the marinade. See the next step to make the glaze.
- If using a thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the chicken. I usually insert the probe into the thickest part of the breast.
- Over low heat, bring the reserved marinade from the chicken to a boil and simmer it for about 5 minutes or so until slightly reduced.
- Add the maple syrup or honey and cook until further reduced and syrupy in consistency.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F (177C) and place the roasting pan with the chicken in the centre of the oven.
- Baste the chicken with the rendered fat from the chicken once every 20-30 mins.
- After about an hour or when the internal temperature hits 145F baste with the glaze. Be careful and watch the chicken closely as the glaze can tend to burn and give the chicken an overly dark appearance.
- Remove chicken when the temperature hits 155F(68C), which is about 1 hour and 30 minutes of cooking. The time is only a guide as final cooking time will depend on your oven and the size of your chicken.
- Once the chicken hits 155F remove from the oven and cover loosely with oil. Let rest for 15-20 minutes. Do not pull the probe out. At this point, the chicken will continue to cook and the temperature will continue to rise.
- After 15- 20 minutes, carve the chicken and place it onto a platter. Serve along with steamed buns and a vegetable of your choice. I usually serve it with steamed broccoli. You can drizzle any remaining basting sauce on the chicken once you have it arranged on the serving platter.
Notes
If you are serving the steamed buns and the vegetables with the chicken, you can start prepping those once the chicken comes out of the oven, giving you plenty of time to get the accompaniments ready while the chicken is resting.
If you want the skin to be super crispy and have the fat totally rendered, then try dipping the whole chicken in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. This tightens up the skin. You can then brush on the marinade on the outside in layers building up a layer every 30 minutes, three to four times. Let the previous layer dry before putting on the next layer
****IMPORTANT NOTE: You are handling raw poultry. Always set the chicken in the refrigerator when resting it. Never leave it out on the counter.
Let the chicken sit in the refrigerator overnight uncovered for the skin to dry completely. This will yield a super crispy skin.