Chinese Five-Spice and Honey Lacquered Chicken à la Peking Duck Style

Five-Spice and Honey Lacquered Chicken, with Sticky Glutinous
Rice Balls and Griddled Broccoli with Garlic, Chilli and Lemon

Lightly blanch in boiling water

Pour the glaze over the chicken 

Marinated overnight and ready for the oven

Chinese Five-Spice and Honey Lacquered Chicken à la Peking
Duck Style

I love Peking Duck, but it's one of those dishes that is so tricky and time consuming to get it right. All the efforts required in order to get that crackling skin and succulent meat. This, in my view is a much simpler version of the dish. The chicken is first blanch in boiling water, just as you would with Peking Duck, and then it is coat with this luscious and sticky five-spice glaze. It is then allow to dry in the fridge overnight before roasting in the oven. This ensure the flavours permeates the skin and also produce a crispy skin when cooked. Seeing that it was Chinese New Year's eve last night, what could be a better reason and timing for me to cook this.

Recipe:
(Serves 4)


1 medium chicken, weighing about 1.3kg
3 tbsp five-spice powder
150ml Chinese black vinegar
100ml dark soy sauce
3 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
6 tbsp honey
sea salt
1/2 lime




Prepare the chicken a day in advance. Combine the five-spice powder, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, honey and a large pinch of salt in a pan and bring to the boil over high heat. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes , until reduced and thicken into a glossy, sticky sauce. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 


Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Dip the chicken into the boiling water, remove, and dip again. Drain the chicken and place in a large dish. Pour over the now cooled five-spice glaze and coat the chicken thoroughly with the glaze. Lift the chicken and allow any excess to be drip off and transfer to a clean dish. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. Reserve the glaze and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge.


The following day, remove the chicken from the fridge. Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 1 hour -1 hour 15 minutes, until the juices run clear.


To crisp up the skin, 10 minutes before the end of cooking, turn up the oven temperature to 240˚C. Do keep an eye on the bird to prevent it burning. Remove from the oven and allow the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving.


While the chicken is resting, heat up the reserved glaze with a splash of water in a pan over medium heat. Simmer for a 2-3 minutes until you have a loose, pouring sauce. Finish off with the juice of half a lime.


Carve the chicken into portions and serve with a drizzle of the sauce.