I love cooking with five spice powder. There are many types of five spice powder and although the basic ingredients are the same, the percentage and quality of spices used determine the outcome of the final taste. I normally use Penang
five spice powder which have quite a pungent smell but it can really enhance the aroma of the dish. I steam roast a whole chicken which has been dry rub with five spice powder. The main idea of steam roast is to collect the nice chicken essence that drip into the oven dripping pan. To do that, you just have to add a little water in the dripping pan and make sure that it doesn’t dry up while you are roasting the chicken. The steam from the water also helps to tenderize the chicken, makes the meat moist and juicy!
Ingredients
Chicken, whole
Five spice powder, 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Lemon zest, just a little
Lemon juice, 2 table spoons
Pepper, ½ teaspoon
Light soya sauce, 2 table spoons
Honey for glazing
Marinade the chicken with all the ingredients except the honey. Pat dries the chicken skin and roast in preheated oven at 180 deg C for 80 minutes. Glaze the chicken with the honey and continue roasting for 10 minutes.
