Soy Sauce Brined Five-Spice Oven-Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

• 2.3 kg chicken
• 2 inches ginger (thumb-size) (sliced)
• Salt (to exfoliate the chicken skin)
• 1 cup light soy sauce
• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 12 cup water
• 6 star anise
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1 Tbsp five-spice powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 45 ml soy sauce
• 50 gr brown sugar
• 15 ml rice vinegar
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes (or more to your taste)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Prepare the soy sauce brine: ---

2. 2

   Use a large pot that can accommodate the chicken and the brine. Put all ingredients for the brine in the pot and bring to a boil to dissolves sugar. Let it cools down completely, about an hour or so. The brine has to cool down completely before you put the chicken in

3. 3

   --- Prepare the chicken: ---

4. 4

   Rub some salt all over the chicken and then rinse off with water. Pat dry. This will make the skin smooth and shiny

5. 5

   --- Brine the chicken: ---

6. 6

   Gently submerge the chicken, breast side down, into the brine. The top of the chicken may peek out a bit, not fully submerged, and it's not a big deal as long as the breast and the legs are all fully submerged in the brine

7. 7

   Cover the pot and put it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours. I don't recommend going beyond 12 hours or the chicken may get too salty

8. 8

   After 12 hours, remove the chicken from the brine and rinse the chicken inside and outside with clean cold or room temperature water and pat the chicken dry with an absorbent paper towel. If you want to dry the chicken skin for crispier skin, proceed to the "dry the chicken" step below. If not, proceed to "rub the chicken" step

9. 9

   --- Dry the chicken (optional): ---

10. 10

    Place a tall jar that can support the weight of the chicken into the cavity of the chicken. So the chicken can stand right up. I place this inside the pot and put it inside the fridge overnight (about 8 hours) to let the skin dry

11. 11

    --- Rub the chicken: ---

12. 12

    Rub the skin with oil all over. Mix the five-spice powder with salt and rub this all over the chicken and inside the cavity. Place the ginger slices inside the cavity

13. 13

    --- Leave for 20 minutes: ---

14. 14

    Preheat oven to 425 F (218 C), use a fan mode if available. Place the chicken on a roasting pan with a rack and let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes so the chicken cooks more evenly

15. 15

    --- Roast the chicken: ---

16. 16

    Place the roasting tray in the middle of the oven and let it cook for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350 F (180 C) and let it continue cooking for about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Check for doneness. The internal temperature at the joint between the leg and thigh should be about 175-180 F (79 - 82 C) or until juices are clear and no longer pink

17. 17

    --- Prepare the dipping sauce: ---

18. 18

    Put all ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook until the mixture is bubbly and sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat. The sauce will thicken further as it cools down. Once cools down completely, it can be kept in the fridge for up to one week

19. 19

    --- Rest the chicken before cutting: ---

20. 20

    Remove the chicken from the roasting rack on a platter. Cover with a foil and let it rest for 15 minutes. Save the dripping on the roasting tray to make gravy or other use

21. 21

    --- When ready to serve: ---

22. 22

    Cut the chicken into serving size and serve with the dipping sauce