Pictorial: Cantonese Roast Chicken with Nam Yu

[hzrt8w]

Cantonese Roast Chicken with Nam Yu (南乳吊燒雞)

This dish of Cantonese Roast Chicken with Nam Yu takes a little bit of work. But the succulent chicken meat with the dry, crispy chicken skin is well worth the efforts.

Dedicated to BettyK.

Picture of the finished dish:

Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3

Preparations:

Main ingredients: (From right, clockwise)

- 2 small whole chickens, about 1 1/2 lb each

- 2 cubes of red fermented bean curds (Nam Yu)

- 2 tsp of five spice powder

To prepare for the marinade: use a small bowl. Use 2 cubes of red fermented bean curds (nam yu). Add 1/2 tsp of salt, and 2 tsp of five spice powder.

Use a small spoon to smash the red fermented bean curds and mix with the salt and five spice powder. Turn the mixture into a paste.

Pat dry the outside of the chickens after cleaning. Roughly divide the paste into 4 portions. Marinate the chickens. Start with the cavity. Rub the paste inside the cavity. Then rub the paste on the outside of the chicken. Try to spread the marinade paste as even as you can. Let the marinade set for at least 1 hour.

To make the skin dry and crispy, we need to pour boiling red vinegar onto the chicken skin. Here is how I did it at home.

First: pour 1/2 bottle (about 1 1/2 cup) of the Chinese red vinegar in a small pot. Add about 1/4 cup of water to dilute it. (During pouring and continuous heating, the vinegar will inevitably become concentrated.) Bring to a boil.

Set a frying pan on top of a second stove. Set stove at high. Use a pair of prongs to hold the chicken (need to rotate the chicken slightly when pouring the vinegar). Pour the boiling red vinegar onto the chicken. Keep rotating the prongs to make sure the chicken skin is evenly coated with the vinegar. Let the excess vinegar drip onto the frying pan. Collect all the excess red vinegar in the pan. Pour back onto the small pot. Set for a minute or 2 to let the vinegar boil again.

Repeat the same pouring process until both chickens are coated with red vinegar evenly (about 2 to 3 times on each side of each chicken).

Here is how the chicken looked after most of the red vinegar was used up.

Find a place where you can hang up the chickens. Place a plate or dish underneath the chicken to catch the dripping fluid. I hung my chickens from a paper towel holder. It helps to keep the air circulating around the chicken. I set a small fan on low speed and blow the air to keep good circulation. (Do not blow directly on the chicken.) Let the chicken hung-dry for a minimum of 2 hours.

To hang the chicken, I made some S-hooks just out of coat-hangers. Cut the wire to size and bend to the right shape. Not that elegant, but does the job well.

(Thanks for the idea, jo-mel!)

Cooking Instructions:

Use a couple of skewers to hold up each chicken. Place inside the oven. Make sure that the chickens are hung in the air and not touching each other or touching a plate. Place a dripping pan filled with water at the bottom. The water will keep the chicken moist during the roasting process.

Set the oven at 300F. Roast the chickens for 1 hour.

Here is how the chickens looked after 1 hour of roasting in the oven.

To make the basting liquid: Place about 2 tsp of malt sugar in a small mixing bowl. Malt sugar is very sticky and hard at room temperature. Once heated up it turns softer and is much easier to handle.

Add about 2 to 3 tsp of water. Place in a microwave and heat it up for about 30 seconds at high. Use a small spoon to help dissolving the malt sugar in hot water. Add about 1 tsp of dark soy sauce.

Stir well to create the basting liquid.

Take the chickens out of the oven and baste with a brush. Make sure to baste evenly over the chicken skin.

Return the chickens in the oven. Turn up the heat slightly to 325F or 350F to roast for another 30 minutes. (Note: if you roast a chicken of a bigger size, adjust the roasting time a bit longer.)

Preparing The Condiments:

I prepared 2 condiments for this dish. One is a raw garlic and oil mix. The other is smashed red fermented bean curds. I like both condiments equally.

The first condiment: peel and trim about 10 cloves of garlic.

Use a blender: add the 10 garlic, add 3 tsp of cooking oil (I used canola oil) and 1/4 tsp of salt. To cut down on the sharpness of raw garlic, I would also add 1 tsp of sugar. Puree the garlic, blend for about 1 minute to 90 seconds.

Here is how the garlic puree condiment looked. Transfer to a small dish before serving.

To make the second condiment: Add 2 cubes of red fermented bean curds in a small bowl. Be sure to use some of the preserving liquid from the jar. Add 1.5 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of dark soy sauce. Optionally, you may add 1 tsp of five spice powder also.

Use a small spoon to smash the red fermented bean curds and mix with the liquid and sugar. Transfer to a small dish before serving.

Both chickens are ready, served with the 2 condiments. Chop up the chickens with a sharp cleaver before serving.

Picture of the finished dish.

Edited February 19, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[jokhm]

OMG.

This is not messing around. Hardcore. I mean, I HAVE to do this now, but I need to find some prep time.. no?

I just know that starting this 'project' will have enough people pointing fingers and laughing. - Considering that most food cooked in my family's home is still done dead-simple.

But -wow. Beautiful pics and amazingly clear instructions. Thanks!!

[mizducky]

←

Those are works of art, sir. Bravo!

I don't recall the last time I saw chickens that small for sale. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. Could you use Cornish game hens? Those I see all the time. (Here I go fiddling with the concept already... )

[Tepee]

OMG.

This is not messing around. Hardcore. I mean, I HAVE to do this now, but I need to find some prep time.. no?

...

But -wow. Beautiful pics and amazingly clear instructions. Thanks!!

←

Aye, aye!!!

Aaargggh! Why did I have to buy my 2 chickens chopped up into bite sizes this week????

[jhirshon]

One question on the recipe. It says:

First: pour 1/2 bottle (about 1 1/2 cup) of the Chinese red vinegar in a small pot. Add about 1/4 to dilute it. (During pouring and continuous heating, the vinegar will inevitably become concentrated.) Bring to a boil.

Add 1/4 what - I assume water?

cheers, JH

[Dejah]

One question on the recipe.  It says:

First: pour 1/2 bottle (about 1 1/2 cup) of the Chinese red vinegar in a small pot. Add about 1/4 to dilute it. (During pouring and continuous heating, the vinegar will inevitably become concentrated.) Bring to a boil.

Add 1/4 what - I assume water?cheers, JH

←

Yes.

Ah Leung, Silow: Great job! I think I'll attempt this next weekend as a surprise for Po-Po. I just picked up a new jar of nam yu in anticipation of this pictorial. We can get small chickens, but usually 2-3 lbs. I'll need to do 3 for my family...

Mizducky: Cornish hens would work, but as Ah Leung said," Adjust your cooking time".

[hzrt8w]

[...] Could you use Cornish game hens? Those I see all the time. (Here I go fiddling with the concept already... )

←

I agree with Dejah Dai Ga Jeah. You may use cornish game hens (they are probably 1 lb each) or larger chickens (3-4 lb). You do need to adjust the cooking time. The method of marination, the vinegar pouring technique and the basting step are the same.

For cornish hens, first cook at 300F for 45 minutes. After basting, roast for maybe 20 minutes.

For larger chickens (3 to 4 lb), first cook at 300F for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (or longer for really large chickens). After basting, roast at 350F for 30 minutes or longer.

Edited February 19, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[hzrt8w]

First: pour 1/2 bottle (about 1 1/2 cup) of the Chinese red vinegar in a small pot. Add about 1/4 to dilute it. (During pouring and continuous heating, the vinegar will inevitably become concentrated.) Bring to a boil.

Add 1/4 what - I assume water?

←

Yes, JH. That's 1/4 cup of water. Sorry. Thanks for pointing that out. I have modified the original post.

[OnigiriFB]

Ah Leung, will you adopt me? Good tip on hanging the chicken from the towel rack. I've always wondered if I tried to roast a duck Chinese style where I would hang it. I'm not sure if I missed it some where but do you have a recipe for roast duck noodle soup? It was one of my absolute favorites from Thailand. I'm just not sure how to make the soup part. I think the duck is a normal five-spice roast duck.

[sheetz]

Dang, I definitely need to try this!

Ah Leung, I'm trying to figure out your oven/skewer setup. Is that a homemade contraption or did you buy it?

[BettyK]

Beautiful.

Ah Leung, thank you so much.

Now I have to hunt for chinese red vinegar and nam yu.

[jo-mel]

hzrt -- Can I adopt YOU? Or just tell me where you live!

This is a great pictorial recipe. What a great idea to hang them from the towel holder! (I trust you have no cats) I used to hang ducks in the cellar, from the water pipes, and the cats went wild. Out of reach, but the aroma was there!

[hzrt8w]

Ah Leung, I'm trying to figure out your oven/skewer setup. Is that a homemade  contraption or did you buy it?

←

sheetz: What I used are:

1. Regular steel skewers (4 of them, 2 for holding each chicken). They are readily available in kitchenware stores.

2. Two "custom made" hooks made of, guess, coat hanger again! Each hook looks like this:

Just cut a coat hanger and bend it to shape like that. Set the oven rack at the top slot. Then hang two of these hooks from the oven rack. Then place the skewers on the bottom rail of these hooks. They work beautifully. Sorry George Foreman, you won't get my business for your rotisserie oven...

[hzrt8w]

Ah Leung, will you adopt me? 

←

Wow, OnigiriFB, it would be such an honor to be your adopted parent! My recipe for roast duck noodle soup? Just buy the roast duck from the restaurant! Oh, just never messed with that before. Duck is different than chicken. It's hugh! I am not really sure if my small kitchen is equipped to do that. But... we'll see. May be... may be... What a challenge! What you can do is: if you have a store-bought roast duck, debone the duck. Use the bone to make the soup. You need to bring the water to a boil with all the duck bones, then turn it to a simmer to simmer to about 2 hours. Add a few tsp of "lo shui" in the soup from the start. If you don't have that, use a few tsp of dark soy sauce and add 5 star anise, 1 piece of dried mandarin peel, and 1 tsp of cloves.

[OnigiriFB]

Ah Leung, will you adopt me? 

←

Wow, OnigiriFB, it would be such an honor to be your adopted parent! My recipe for roast duck noodle soup? Just buy the roast duck from the restaurant! Oh, just never messed with that before. Duck is different than chicken. It's hugh! I am not really sure if my small kitchen is equipped to do that. But... we'll see. May be... may be... What a challenge! What you can do is: if you have a store-bought roast duck, debone the duck. Use the bone to make the soup. You need to bring the water to a boil with all the duck bones, then turn it to a simmer to simmer to about 2 hours. Add a few tsp of "lo shui" in the soup from the start. If you don't have that, use a few tsp of dark soy sauce and add 5 star anise, 1 piece of dried mandarin peel, and 1 tsp of cloves.

←

Woohoo! I'm adopted! Yay! Er... lo shui? I have no idea what that is?

[Ben Hong]

HOLD ON.

Before anyone rushes off to start making wire coat hanger hooks, be aware that all of them are either painted or varnished. Now, do you know what happens to paint and varnish under high heat?? Better idea is to go to a hardware store or a wire fence dealer and get some aluminum "ties" . They are about the same or heavier guage as the wire hangers and they are not coated. they come in various lengths.

If you don't want to spend a few cents at a hardware store, then burn off the paint or varnish off the hangers before using.

[hzrt8w]

Now I have to hunt for chinese red vinegar and nam yu.

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BettyK: You see the picture of the Chinese red vinegar in this pictorial.

I have a picture of the jar of "Nam Yu" from another recipe:

It is the jar to the left.

[wesza]

←

Those are works of art, sir. Bravo!

I don't recall the last time I saw chickens that small for sale. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places. Could you use Cornish game hens? Those I see all the time. (Here I go fiddling with the concept already... )

←

Ellen:

Since your in San Diego small Chickens should be available at many Asian Markets they are often designated as Young or Baby Chickens at some Ranch 99 Super Asian Markets they are labeled with their correct name Poussins.

Irwin

[BarbaraY]

Now you really have my attention. That looks just too good. No Poussins to be had here but I can get Cornish hens.

[sheetz]

One more question. Is it possible to deep fry the chickens after applying the basting liquid?

[hzrt8w]

One more question. Is it possible to deep fry the chickens after applying the basting liquid?

←

I think you were thinking of the Cantonese Fried Chicken (Ja Jee Gai)? If I bake the chicken, I wouldn't want to deep-fry it in the end.

Cantonese Fried Chicken can be made following a similar process. For marinade, skip the red fermented bean curds. Just use five spice powder, salt, and add some broken star anises. Pour boiling red vinegar over the chicken the same way. Hang dry for a few hours. Then deep-fry the chicken.

[hzrt8w]

hzrt -- Can I adopt YOU?  Or just tell me where you live!

[...]

(I trust you have no cats)

←

Wow... it's another honor! To be adopted! I grew up without a mother. I hope it's a good thing... I live in the sunny... oh, not quite that sunny up in Northern Cal. This ain't no Los Angeles...

No we don't have any pets (oh, I managed to spell it right this time, Dejah). If we do, they might acquire some crave for Cantonese food!

[hzrt8w]

Before anyone rushes off to start making wire coat hanger hooks, be aware that all of them are either painted or varnished. [...]

←

Ben Sook: No worries... but you have a very good point. The coat hanger that I used does not have any paint or plastic coating. It seems to be a special alloy that doesn't rust. At any rate, the S-hook I use do not go into the oven. The hooks that go into the oven do not touch the chicken.

[hzrt8w]

[...] Er... lo shui? I have no idea what that is?

←

There is a picture here:

It's the bottle to the left. Lee Kum Kee translated it as "Chinese Marinade". It is something that is made of soy sauce and five spices.

[jo-mel]

hzrt -- Can I adopt YOU?  Or just tell me where you live!

[...]

(I trust you have no cats)

←

Wow... it's another honor! To be adopted! I grew up without a mother. I hope it's a good thing... I live in the sunny... oh, not quite that sunny up in Northern Cal. This ain't no Los Angeles...

No we don't have any pets (oh, I managed to spell it right this time, Dejah). If we do, they might acquire some crave for Cantonese food!

←

I may not be Chinese, but now I can say I have an adopted Chinese son!! YEAH!!!!!