Roasted chicken, here in Manila and neighboring provinces, are everywhere! I kid you not, it's literally everywhere. Every busy corner (even not so busy) has a stall or series of them which sells whole roasted chickens. Just in my small neighborhood, we have two vendors of this. In the local dialect, we call this 'lechon manok'. It always comes to the rescue during emergencies like surprise visitors or I-need-to-bring-a-potluck-meal dilemmas. It is readily available, it fills the tummy and it's cheap - PHP145.00 or USD3.00 for one a whole chicken!
Andok's, Baliwag, Mang Bok's, Sr. San Pedro and now Chook's To Go are some of the most popular stores which made a name in the world of roasted chicken here in the Philippines. Each store has more or less 100 branches each! Now do you have a picture of how many they are here? This count does not include the small players, which again, I will reiterate are everywhere!
So, where am I going to with this? All I wanted to say is, roasted chicken is easy to do and is very versatile. Apart from eating it as it is, a lot of several dishes can be made using roasted chicken as an ingredient - salad, sandwich, tacos, quesadillas, and even broth! This versatility is the main reason why roasted chicken was my next choice to feature in our "Start With..." series.
I have here a simple recipe of roasted chicken. Then again, you can be creative and substitute ingredients to your liking to create that salty, sweet and savory chicken!
ROASTED CHICKEN with LEMONGRASS
INGREDIENTS
1 whole spring chicken, about 1.2kl
1/2 Tbsp rock salt
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 stalk lemongrass
1 lemon wedge
METHOD
Marinate chicken with salt, soy sauce and honey. Rub chicken including insides and set aside inside refrigerator overnight.
NOTE: Best to store marinating chicken in a freezer bag for equal distribution of marinade.
When ready to roast, remove chicken from the marinade. Fold whole lemongrass stalk to fit the inside of the chicken. Place lemon wedge inside the chicken as well.
Roast for 1 hour in a 150C oven or rotisserie.
NOTE: Better if you can collect drippings of chicken while roasting. You can use to braise chicken just before serving to achieve that shine and mouthwatering effect not to mention additional flavor.
Andok's, Baliwag, Mang Bok's, Sr. San Pedro and now Chook's To Go are some of the most popular stores which made a name in the world of roasted chicken here in the Philippines. Each store has more or less 100 branches each! Now do you have a picture of how many they are here? This count does not include the small players, which again, I will reiterate are everywhere!
So, where am I going to with this? All I wanted to say is, roasted chicken is easy to do and is very versatile. Apart from eating it as it is, a lot of several dishes can be made using roasted chicken as an ingredient - salad, sandwich, tacos, quesadillas, and even broth! This versatility is the main reason why roasted chicken was my next choice to feature in our "Start With..." series.
I have here a simple recipe of roasted chicken. Then again, you can be creative and substitute ingredients to your liking to create that salty, sweet and savory chicken!
ROASTED CHICKEN with LEMONGRASS
INGREDIENTS
1 whole spring chicken, about 1.2kl
1/2 Tbsp rock salt
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 stalk lemongrass
1 lemon wedge
METHOD
Marinate chicken with salt, soy sauce and honey. Rub chicken including insides and set aside inside refrigerator overnight.
NOTE: Best to store marinating chicken in a freezer bag for equal distribution of marinade.
When ready to roast, remove chicken from the marinade. Fold whole lemongrass stalk to fit the inside of the chicken. Place lemon wedge inside the chicken as well.
Roast for 1 hour in a 150C oven or rotisserie.
NOTE: Better if you can collect drippings of chicken while roasting. You can use to braise chicken just before serving to achieve that shine and mouthwatering effect not to mention additional flavor.
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| roasted chicken thigh part - my favorite! |
Roasted chicken is indeed so versatile...and delicious! And lemongrass is a perfect flavor for it :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks marvelous - even better than any that I've seen at those chicken restos mentioned. I'll definitely have to give this a try! 8-)
ReplyDelete@Joey - thanks much! lemongrass makes it perfect :)
ReplyDelete@tracey - thank you very much! you are too sweet!
I love roasted chicken! it's yummy and healthy! Can't ask for better ;)
ReplyDeleteI agree! roasting it reduces its fat content :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
I like you use lemongrass for the recipe. Chicken looks perfect for perfect dinner. bookmarked it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Citra! glad you liked it!
DeleteI appreciate you stopping buy!
What gorgeous chicken!!! I love the beautiful lacquer given by the dark soy...mmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lizzy! You're so sweet!
DeleteI love lemongrass and its one of my favorite herbs.Your chicken looks absolutely gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm drooling :)Love it!!
Thanks Soni! I'm happy you liked it :)
DeleteI love lemongrass, but I never know how to do it on my own. I finally bought some the other day - I'll have to try this gorgeous dish out!
ReplyDeleteHey Laura! A lot of Asian dishes uses lemongrass for flavoring and aromatics. You can also make some tea using lemongrass and honey :) it's refreshing!
DeleteHere's one from my earlier posts - Lemongrass Drink http://mytwistedrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/06/lemongrass-drink.html
Hope you enjoy it!
I'm like Laura - adore lemongrass but besides one Thai recipe, I'm stumped. This looks so amazing - thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deanna! glad you liked it!
DeleteI'll post more recipes with lemongrass soon. Hope you'll visit that too!
oh this looks insanely delicious
ReplyDeleteyou're so sweet!
Deletethanks Jessica!
i love the marinade but your cooking time and temperature is way off... ... ended up cooking it more than 2 hours ... ... are you positive about this settings... ...
ReplyDelete