Learn how to make Chinese roasted chicken with a simplified method.Roasted chicken (烧鸡) actually is a large group of dish in China, differ from different area and cuisine.The recipe introduced here creates paper thin skins and tender meat.

After getting the embed large oven as a birthday gift in my kitchen, I decided to develop several yummy whole roasted chicken as a return to my family in addition to different kinds of sweet desserts (Hong Kong Egg tarts) and soft asian buns (milk bread). Fortunately, I get more than 5 quite yummy recipes to share in this year. I have re-tested them several times in the past year. Cooking with oven is much easier and energy saving comparing with wok because the later involves lots of cutting, chopping and stir-frying. Though the entire process of this Chinese roasted chicken takes a little bit long, it is quite easy.

There is a much complex but softer version popular in China. The Chicken is pre-cooked in a soy sauce flavored soup base, followed by a long air-drying process. Then roast with honey water or light soy sauce. This recipe uses a very similar concept but different approaches. Marinating is responsible for all the flavoring tasks.

Tips

The actual roasting time is very much based on the weight of your chicken. I usually use 1kg smaller chicken for oven roasted chicken. For 1.5 kg chicken, the low temperature roasting time should at least 30 minutes.
Do not brush any oil or honey on the skin so you can make paper-thin crispy skin.
Remember to lower the temperature later to most of the inside juice can be kept.

Ingredients

1 chicken (around 1 kg )

Marinade

4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 thumb ginger, sliced
2 green onion, cut into small sections
1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine
½ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. five spice powder

Steps

1.Clean the chicken and soak in clean water for 15 minutes. Then massage with white vinegar, set aside for 10 minutes. Then rinse the chicken with paper (drying process is quite important). Rubbing with white vinegar can help to remove any oddness taste if exists.

2.Combine all the marinade ingredient in a small bowl. Prepare a large bag, place the chicken in and then add all the marinade sauce. Rub the bag gently to make sure the chicken is evenly coated by the sauce. Keep in fridge at least overnight to 48 hours. Flip 2-3 times.

3.Take only the chicken out (discard the liquid and all the other spices). Truss the the legs and place on a baking sheet (breast up) and then air dry until the skin becomes tightened and dry (usually take 1 to 4 hours based on the room condition).

Chinese roasted Chicken | chinasichuanfood.com

4 hours later with air drying

4. Preheat the oven to 200 degree C (400 Degree F). Place the chicken on the low rack and roast for 30 minutes. Lower the temperature to 120 degree C (250 degree F) and bake for another 20 minutes (you can rotate your roasting pan).

5.Cooled down for 15 minutes before shredding and enjoy. You can serve it with spicy sauce, soy sauce or plum sauce. You can easily apart the chicken with hands.

By the way, if you love to cook whole chicken, check salt baked chicken (盐焗鸡) and Chinese style braised chicken with spices and soy sauce (脱骨卤鸡), and in summer time, you must try tender and milk white cut chicken and spicy Sichuan mouthwatering chicken.