Glazed Five-Spice Chicken

Ingrédients

4-pound chicken or 8 bone-in, skin-on thighs

Salt

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup mirin (rice wine)

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

4 garlic cloves, finely grated or pounded with a pinch of salt

½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

4 scallions, green and white parts slivered

Instructions

Prep the chicken the day before you want to cook. If using a whole chicken, follow the instructions on page 318 to cut the bird into 8 pieces, and save the carcass for your next batch of Chicken Stock (page 271).

Season the chicken lightly with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. Keep in mind that the marinade consists mostly of soy sauce, so use only about half as much salt as you otherwise would.

In the meantime, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, five-spice, and cayenne. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag and squish the marinade around so all the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate overnight.

A few hours before you want to cook the chicken, pull it out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

To cook, place chicken skin side up in a shallow 8 by 13-inch roasting dish, then pour the marinade over the meat. The marinade should generously cover the bottom of the pan. If it doesn't, add 2 tablespoons of water to ensure even coverage and prevent burning. Slide into the oven and rotate the pan every 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove the breasts, if using, after 20 minutes of cooking, to prevent overcooking.

Continue cooking dark meat for another 20 to 25 minutes, until it's tender at the bone, or a total of 45 minutes.

When the dark meat is cooked, return the breasts to the pan and crank the oven to 450°F to let the sauce reduce and the skin to get dark brown and crisp, about 12 minutes.

Brush the chicken with the marinade from the pan every 3 to 4 minutes to glaze them.

Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and slivered scallions.

Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days,

Notes

Make full marinade even if reducing chicken quantity