Pictorial: Baked Soy Sauce Chicken

[hzrt8w]

Pictorial Recipe

Baked Soy Sauce Chicken (豉油焗雞)

I have made regular soy sauce chicken many times. The traditional recipe is to boil the chicken in soy sauce mixed with rock sugar and spices. Today I want to try something new - how about baking the chicken after marinating it in soy sauce? The procedure is very similar to the "Nam Yu Roast Chicken" I published earlier. The difference? This time I used only dark soy sauce as the marinade.

Serving Suggestion: 4 - 5

Preparations:

Main ingredients (upper right, clockwise):

- 1 whole chicken, about 4 lb

- some star anises (see below)

- Lee Kum Kee "Chinese Marinade" (see below)

- Dark Soy Sauce (see below)

Dry rub:

- 4 whole star anises

- 1 tsp of salt

- 1/2 tsp of five spice powder

Marinade for chicken:

- 4 tblsp of dark soy sauce

- 2 tblsp of Lee Kum Kee "Chinese Marinade"

- 1/2 tsp of salt

Basting mixture:

- 2 tsp of dark soy sauce

- 3 tsp of honey

- 2 tsp of water

Optional condiment:

- 3 stalks of green onions (finely chopped)

- 2 inches of ginger (grated)

- 1/2 tsp of salt

- 1 tsp of sugar

- 3 tblsp of cooking oil

Use a food mallet to break up the star anises into small fragments. Place them in a small bowl. Mix them with 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of five spice powder.

Mix this "dry rub" well.

Trim off the extra fat from the chicken. Apply the dry rub ingredients inside the chicken cavity thoroughly.

Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl. To marinate, add:

- 4 tblsp of dark soy sauce

- 2 tblsp of Lee Kum Kee "Chinese Marinade"

- 1/2 tsp of salt

Mix and rub the marinade thoroughly over the chicken. Marinate at room temperature for about 2 hours, 1 hour per side.

After an hour, turn the chicken over so the bottom would soak up the marinade liquid.

After 2 hours of marination, use a big "S" hook to hang up the chicken. Set a small fan at "low" to dry the chicken. Be sure to place a plate underneath to catch the liquid dripping. Hang the chicken for about an hour or so.

Cooking Instructions:

Put 2 metal skewers through the chicken. Use some special hooks to hang the chicken underneath a rack in the oven. Fill a small baking pan with water and place it underneath the chick to keep the chicken moist during baking (as well as catching the dripping grease).

Bake the chicken at 325F for 1.5 hour.

This is how the chicken looks after 1.5 hour in the oven.

Take the chicken out of the oven to apply the basting mixture.

The basting mixture is made of:

- 2 tsp of dark soy sauce

- 3 tsp of honey

- 2 tsp of water

Baste the chicken thoroughly with a brush.

Return the chicken to the oven and set the temperature to 425F. Continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes to make a crispy, shinny chicken skin.

(Optional)

Meanwhile, you may make a condiment with:

- 3 stalks of green onions (finely chopped)

- 2 inches of ginger (grated)

- 1/2 tsp of salt

- 1 tsp of sugar

- 3 tblsp of cooking oil

First chop the green onions and grate the ginger and place them in a bowl. Heat up the cooking oil to smoking temperature. Pour the smoking oil onto the green onion and ginger. Finally add the salt and sugar and mix the ingredients well.

Finished. Remove the chicken from the oven. Chop up the chicken, Chinese style. Transfer to a serving plate.

Serve either with the green onion/ginger mix condiment, or a small dish of dark soy sauce as condiment. The chicken skin is crisp, and the meat remains very moist and tender.

Picture of the finished dish.

Edited January 8, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

Ah Leung, I'm buying a ticket to CA now to visit you for dinner! That is one scrumptious looking chicken!

[aznsailorboi]

As always Ah Leung wonderful masterpiece! the skin looks perfect!

so uhmm u didn't have to turn the chicken while in the oven right? and are those just regular kebab skewers?

[Gastro888]

OH! That looks great, Ah Leung Goh!

How'd you make the wire hanger for the oven? Is that homemade or store bought? I need one of those!

[Shaya]

That looks absolutely amazing.

[hzrt8w]

so uhmm u didn't have to turn the chicken while in the oven right?

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Yes that's right. No need to turn the chicken. Hang the chicken with the breast facing down. Bake for 1.5 hour. Minimum work.

and are those just regular kebab skewers?

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Yes, just regular stainless steel kebab skewers.

[hzrt8w]

How'd you make the wire hanger for the oven?  Is that homemade or store bought?  I need one of those!

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See this post and the follow-up replies on how to make the hooks:

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

[orangewasabi]

that is some HANDSOME chicken! my mouth is seriously watering.

[hzrt8w]

that is some HANDSOME chicken!  my mouth is seriously watering.

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Thank you very much for your kind words, orangewasabi.

Oh, BTW, are there really wasabi that is orange in color? Never seen it.

[hzrt8w]

I have been thinking... I can probably improve this recipe by using a fork to poke some holes around the chicken breast so that the meat would soak up some dark soy sauce during marination before baking. This way the white meat would carry more of the soy sauce flavor.

[Dejah]

I have been thinking... I can probably improve this recipe by using a fork to poke some holes around the chicken breast so that the meat would soak up some dark soy sauce during marination before baking.  This way the white meat would carry more of the soy sauce flavor.

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If you poke holes, then you'd probably lose some "juiciness" in the final product as you are roasting the chicken breast down. The breast meat can be very touchy with the baking method.

I like the lovely contrast between the colour of the skin and the white of the meat. The trick is to eat each piece WITH the skin, but I suppose your better half would say, "NO, No!".

If you want the colour and flavour to infuse throughout the meat, then you would simmer the chicken in the marinade.

[CFT]

Would it be possible to get under the skin and apply the dry rub ingredients there?

[Dejah]

Would it be possible to get under the skin and apply the dry rub ingredients there?

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That would be a better method - just like slipping branches of rosemary under the skin when roasting a chicken. The flesh is not pierced, so the juice would stay in the chicken.

[sheetz]

If you really want the meat to be infused with the flavor you gotta marinate the chicken for at LEAST 24 hours. 72 hours is best.

[Ben Hong]

Would it be possible to get under the skin and apply the dry rub ingredients there?

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That would be a better method - just like slipping branches of rosemary under the skin when roasting a chicken. The flesh is not pierced, so the juice would stay in the chicken.

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Why go through all that at all? Sometimes subtlety is best with chicken. The taste of the marinading spices and flavours can overpower the delicate taste of the chicken flesh. "IF" one eats the marinade laced skin, that would be enough flavouring to contrast the pure taste of the meat.

Gotta eat the skin, y'all.

[somemale]

whats the green onion/ginger stuff called in chinese??

[Gastro888]

"Geung chung yao"

Ginger scallion oil

Gosh, I hope I'm correct on this one...

[hzrt8w]

"Geung chung yao"

Ginger scallion oil

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I second.

Some also calls this in the abbreviated form "chung yao" (scallion oil).

Some calls it "geung yung" - meaning minced ginger.

[All pronounciations in Cantonese.]

Edited January 11, 2007 by hzrt8w (log)

[aznsailorboi]

that ginger scallion oil is good even on just plain steamed chicken.

[hzrt8w]

that ginger scallion oil is good even on just plain steamed chicken.

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*especially* on plain steamed chicken.

[Gastro888]

Oh ick, who would eat plain steamed chicken without it? It's a must!!!