This Chinese Roast Chicken recipe is a budget-friendly, easy dinner recipe made with easy-to-get ingredients (from the regular store, no need to go to the Asian market), that the entire family will love. (+ a secret tip for getting extra crispy skin, without having to tie the chicken up vertically!) No dipping sauce needed.
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🥘 Ingredients
You will need a few simple ingredients for Chinese roasted chicken, a delicious alternative Thanksgiving meal, especially for a small family:
- a whole chicken: mine was 1.4 kg. If yours is bigger, the cooking and marinating time will increase. (If not marinated for long enough, the flavor won't be able to permeate all the way into the flash.) If cooking a smaller bird, you need to reduce the cooking time to get juicy chicken. (Whole chicken is usually cheaper than chicken parts. It's perfect for Lunar New Year too! (A whole chicken on the Chinese New Year table represents family unity, which is thought to bring good luck. For more money-saving whole chicken recipes, click here. Chinese families turn the bones into chicken stock (a key ingredient in Chinese cooking) after carving.)
For the marinade
- light soy sauce: this is a key ingredient so do not substitute the light soy (Having said that, fish sauce may work in a smaller quantity- I will test and report!)
- oyster sauce: I use Lee Kum Kee brand (the inventor of oyster sauce!) I suspect the recipe would work with Hoisin Sauce too and will test and update accordingly.
- dark soy sauce: you can make your own black soy sauce or substitute with sweet soy sauce/ kicap manis (reduce the sugar if you do so)
- shaoxing wine: you can use sake or 1 of these Chinese cooking wine substitutes
- Chinese five spice powder: it's easy to make your own five spice mix at home- extra of this essential Chinese spice can be used to make char siu or other Chinese dishes- but if you can't get chinese five-spice powder, feel free to omit.
- sugar: you can use white sugar or light brown sugar. I usually avoid dark brown sugar when cooking as it can make savory food taste like molasses.
- salt: I add a teaspoon of salt to the marinade, but if you're going to rub the skin with the baking powder-salt mix, then omit this
For Stuffing in the Chicken
- ginger: No need to peel, just wash, smash, and slice a 2 inch piece of ginger. The fragrance will permeate through the meat. For best results, do not leave this out. (ginger and garlic are essential spices in Chinese food.)
- garlic: wash, lightly bang with the back of a rolling pin/ your knife, and peel before stuffing the chicken. No need to slice. I have not tried this with garlic powder before.
- Optional: you can stuff green onions in the chicken cavity too.
Optional: For extra crispy chicken skin, you can use the same trick I used in my Vietnamese baked wings recipe. Mix 1 part baking powder with 3-4 parts salt, then rub the mixture on the chicken skin. Leave uncovered in fridge for 12 to 24 hours. Do not use baking soda, or there will be a strange metallic taste. (If you do not rest the chicken, there will be bubbles on the skin.)
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- Spiced: you can add black pepper and star anise to the marinade for more oomph.
- Turmeric Roast Chicken
- Korean Roast Chicken: Use a gochujang marinade.
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Mix the sauce ingredients ( light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, Chinese five spice, sugar, salt) in a small bowl, then pour over the chicken and massage into skin. Ideally marinade in a Ziplock bag, so you can easily turn the chicken around, to ensure the whole bird gets the sauce. This also helps you get tender meat.
2. Pour the marinade over the whole chicken, making sure all the skin and hidden bits are covered.
3a. Don't forget to generously pour the sauce in the chicken cavity too.
3b. Marinade in the fridge for at least 24 hours. (I tried it for 16 hours and the skin was flavorful, but the meat was a bit bland.)
Pre-heat oven to 220C/ 200C (428F/392F fan.)
4a . Remove 50-60 minutes before you want to roast.
4b. Stuff the chicken with the ginger and garlic.
5a. Prepare a wire rack over a baking tray. (I have not tested this with a roasting pan yet.)
5b. Pour some water on the tray, ensuring the water doesn't touch the chicken or grill- the water will help catch the drippings, and prevent it from burning on the tray and making a mess.)
5c. Place chicken on the rack. Bake 20 minutes at 220C/ 200C fan.
6a. After the 20 minutes is up, take out the chicken and turn it around. (It will look like the above.) (Ovens have hot spots, so you turn the tray as you want the chicken to cook evenly.)
6b. Reduce to 180C/ 160C fan and bake for another 30 minutes.
7a. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the chicken (it will look like the above- more charred on one side- if you did NOT turn it) and glaze.
7b. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature at the thickest part (it should be 165F when fully cooked) and remove once the chicken is cooked through.
7c. Rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving the meat.
8a. Whilst the chicken is roasting for the last 10-15 minutes in the oven, boil the marinade ingredients.
8b. Boil for at least 10 minutes- (to kill off all the bacteria.)
The reduction can be used as a dip for the chicken meat (if you didn't have time to marinade it, and it's less flavorful) or to replace hoisin sauce when making chicken wraps etc.
Note: Do not use the reduction to glaze the chicken because it will make the skin much too salty.
🥡 How to Store
Store leftover Chinese roasted chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. They can be made into chicken jook or one of these roast chicken dishes.
After carving, the bones can be used to boil chicken bone broth.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: We need the oil beneath the skin to drip out, to get the super crispy skin. This was traditionally done by hanging the chicken (or Peking duck) vertically in Chinese restaurants. At home, it's quite difficult to do so, hence we settle for the baking powder-salt rub, and placing the chicken on a wire rack. I have not tested this recipe with a baking pan before.
Tip #2: You can also air dry the chicken, uncovered, in the fridge. (Some people do it at room temperature but I live in a hot and humid country- food safety first!)
🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Chinese Rotisserie Chicken Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this chinese style chicken, please consider supporting it by buying me a bottle of soy sauce! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Chinese Roast Chicken
Equipment
- Baking Tray with wire rack
- Large Ziplock bag To marinade the chicken. If not, just use a plastic tuppleware box.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken I used a 1.4kg chicken (3 lb.) A bigger chicken would need more marinating and cooking time. A smaller chicken would require less.
For the marinade
- 6 Tablespoons light soy sauce Reduce to 5 Tablespoons if doing the baking powder- salt rub.
- 3 Tablespoons oyster sauce I use Lee Kum Kee brand
- 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce You can make your own black soy sauce or substitute with sweet soy sauce/ kicap manis (reduce the sugar if you do so)
- 1 Tablespoon shaoxing wine You can use sake or 1 of these Chinese cooking wine substitutes
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder Ideally, for the freshest flavor, make your own five spice mix at home. If you can't get it, feel free to omit.
- 1 Tablespoon sugar white or brown suagr work.
- 1 teaspoon salt Omit if rubbing with salt and baking powder later.
For stuffing the chicken
- 2 inch fresh ginger wash, smash with the back of your knife (or a rolling pin), and slice. No need to peel
- 1 whole fresh garlic wash, smash, peel. No need to slice.
Optional rub for extra crispy skin (will include extra 12-24 hours of resting time in the fridge)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
Glaze
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
Instructions
- Mix the sauce ingredients, then pour over the chicken and massage into skin. Ideally marinade in a Ziplock bag, so you can easily turn the chicken around, to ensure the entire bird gets the sauce.
- Marinade for at least 24 hours in the fridge. (I tried it for 16 hours and the skin was flavorful, but the meat was a bit bland.)
24 hours after marinating
- Pre-heat oven to 220C/ 200C (428F/392F fan.)
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 50-60 minutes before you want to roast.
- Place the chicken on the wire rack and let it return to room temperature (about 50-60 minutes, depending on the size of your bird.)
- Bake at 220C/ 200C (428F/392F fan) for 20 minutes.
- Reduce to 180C/ 160C fan. Remove the tray, and turn it around then bake for another 30 minutes.(Ovens have hot spots, so if you don't turn the tray, one part of the chicken will be more burnt than others.)
- After 30 minutes, remove and glaze with the honey mixture. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or till the internal temeprature of the thickes part measures 165F. (Use a food thermometer. The juices should also run clear when cut later.)
- Money-saving tip: Whilst the chicken is finishing baking, boil the marinade ingredients for 10 minutes (to kill off all the bacteria.)The reduction can be used as a dip for the chicken meat (if you didn't have time to marinade it, and it's less flavorful) or to replace hoisin sauce when making chicken wraps etc. However, do not use the reduction to glaze the chicken because it will make the skin much too salty.
- Once the chicken is cooked, use oven gloves to remove the tray from the oven. Rest the bird for 10 minutes before cutting and serving
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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Dorene chew says
My recent medical check up showed my potassium level to be very high. Further to reduce my cholesterol, I have to start Kc to chicken and fish. Your chicken recipes came in very handy: roasted Chinese chicken, tumeric chicken and Philippine style. Have been rotating them these 2 months. Thank you.
Zen says
Thanks Dorene- glad to hear the recipes are useful- hope your subsequent check-ups will have better news!
brin says
Great recipe Zhen!
Zen says
Thanks Brin 🙂 Glad the roast worked for you!
Lauren Gardiner says
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it!