Spiced Roast Chicken With Fragrant Jasmine Rice

Total Time: 4 hrs Preparation Time: 3 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 chicken
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
• 1 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chinese five spice powder
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
• 2 cups jasmine rice, washed and drained
• 900 ml chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 2 teaspoons water
• 2 limes
• fresh herb (to garnish)

Recipe

• 1 chicken: use kitchen scissors to cut down both sides of the back bone and remove.
• 2 open the chicken out like a book and snip through the wishbone to enable the chicken to lie flat.
• 3 slash the skin several times and place the chicken in a large dish.
• 4 pound the garlic, ginger, chilli and sugar to paste in a mortar and pestle or blend in a small food processor.
• 5 add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• 6 pour the marinade over the chicken and rub into the meat.
• 7 cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours if possible.
• 8 preheat the oven to 200°c.
• 9 heat a little oil in an over proof saute pan over a medium heat.
• 10 take the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess drip back into the dish.
• 11 place the chicken in the pan, skin side down and allow to brown.
• 12 turn the chicken over and pour over the marinade.
• 13 roast the chicken in the over 50-60 minutes, basting a couple of times during cooking.
• 14 transfer the chicken to a plate and rest, lightly covered, for 5 minutes.
• 15 tip the pan juices into a small pot.
• 16 mix the cornflour with the water and stir into the juices.
• 17 simmer for 2 minutes then add a good squeeze of lime juice and pour into a serving jug.
• 18 rice: heat the oil in an oven-proof saute pan or pot with a lid.
• 19 add the onion, garlic, ginger, cardamom pods and mustard seeds and gently fry until tender.
• 20 add the rice, stock and salt and bring to the boil.
• 21 cover and place back in the oven for 25 minutes.
• 22 stir the rice once during cooking.
• 23 remove from the oven and sit covered, for 5 minutes before serving.
• 24 to serve: spoon the rice onto a platter.
• 25 cut the chicken into serving pieces and place on top.
• 26 scatter fresh herbs over the chicken and garnish with lime wedges.
• 27 bowls of thick plain yoghurt, roasted chopped peanuts and crispy shallots are nice accompaniments.