This flavorful one pan beautiful dish makes a perfectly cheap and easy mid-week family meal.
It is sweet, spicy and full of exciting flavors with each bite.
Like all Chinese food it is colorful and full of vibrant aromas that gets even better with time so it is a perfect meal for your weekly meal-prep.
The main element in this dish beside the traditional Chinese sauces is the aromas. Those deep traditional Chinese aromas; this important element if made from a 5 spices mix used in most of the Chinese dishes. Usually I like to do my own blend for a more authentic deep roasting flavor in the mix but you can go and buy the pre-made blends. But if you want my advice, I tried both options and those freshly homemade roasted and grounded aromas add a really original depth to your final flavor.
The Chinese 5 Spices Blend is the name show a blend of 5 aromas: star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds and the one and only Sichuan Peppercorn.
Sichuan Peppercorn is a traditional Chinese spice originated from Sichuan cuisine of China’s Southwestern Sichuan province. It has a unique aroma and flavor that is neither hot like chili peppers nor pungent like black pepper. you can find it in big grocery stores in the Asian food section and for an extra help if you live in Dubai there is plenty of Chinese and Asian grocery stores that sell this peppercorn and many more Asian ingredients in super cheap prices with more authentic brands and flavors comparing to big grocery stores.
If you need more details and recommendations on the best Asian grocery stores in Dubai do not hesitate to DM on Instagram or email me directly or just drop me a comment in this article . I am always glade to answer all your questions and help you prepare the food in the perfect way you can, even if you don’t find all the ingredients and need some alternatives!
For my homemade Chinese 5 spices blend recipe check this link!
And don’t worry if you are too lazy to even look it up or you are not just into looking for authentic ingredients, you can easily substitute it with black pepper, it won’t be exactly the same taste but it is the closet easiest alternative.
If you like Asian/ Chinese food like me and you love playing with flavors, I would highly recommend you invest in some spices and sauces from an authentic shop. It makes a big difference in flavors and texture to use the authentic traditional ingredients used in the original Chinese cuisine. It’s like every 6 months up to 1 year buy. You will buy once a year a big batch of different ingredients and you are good to go for over a year!
This chicken recipe is so flexible and you can adjust it to your liking, you can use different types of cuts: thighs, breast, drumsticks, wings, any cut you like. You can have it boneless or with bones, but the most important thing is the skin! yes, the skin, always for this recipe buy your cuts SKIN-ON! This will add that crusty texture and keep you chicken tender and moist from inside. You can remove it when you want to eat it but ROAST THOSE BABIES SKIN-ON!
FUN FACT: the latest studies shows that roasting your chicken skin on than removing it when you want to eat is healthier with less fat and calories than roasting the chicken skinless. Can you imagine! and a bonus of tasting super delicious and moist !what we could ask more! you can read more about that in this article!
I usually enjoy it with some steamed rice and broccoli on the inside or some stir-fried veggie noodles. I have a very easy veggies stir-fried noodles recipe that goes with any Asian main course and even goes great alone! Check it out!
One more secret technique in this recipe is braising those babies good to keep that chicken tender and to enhance and intensify those sweet and sour Chinese flavors in the chicken marinade.
If you are not yet convinced, just look at this golden-brown color how appetizing and hypnotizing it is!
It is not a hard recipe, always take it as a rule in all Asian cuisine recipes, preparation is the key. Cut, mix and prepare everything before you start and from there everything is just very simple.
So let’s start marinating and roasting those chickens, shall we?
Chinese Glazed Chicken:
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs skin-on see notes
For the marinade:
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce see notes
- 3 gloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tsp of Chinese 5 spices blend see notes
For the basting sauce:
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Instructions
- Step 1: in a large bowl add the chicken pieces and the marinade ingredients and mix. Let it marinade overnight or at least 2 hours, covered in the fridge.
- Step 2: preheat oven to 180 C◦. line a baking tray with some aluminum foil so it will be easy to clean and top it with a baking rack. place the chicken pieces on the rack and cook in the oven for 30 minutes covered with some aluminum foil.
- Step 3: while the chicken is cooking, mix the basting sauce and set aside until your 30 minutes are done. (If you are preparing any side dishes with those chicken like steamed rice or veggies or some stir-fry noodles you can prepare it now while the chicken are cooking.)
- Step 4: after 30 minutes, remove the chicken from oven and remove the foil from the top. Brush the top of the chicken with the basting sauce and place back in the oven for 15 minutes, uncovered. Then flip the chicken braise the other side and bake it again for extra 10 minutes. Until the skin is crisp and the chicken is cooked through. (see notes)
- Step 5: serve with some steamed rice or veggies or some stir-fry noodles and enjoy!
Notes
For the chicken : you can choose any kind of chicken pieces you like and you can have it boneless or with bones as you prefer but the most important thing is to have the skin-on, this is a very important thing to leave for the final texture in the recipe.
For the baking time: the baking time in this recipe is for chicken thigh with bones and with skin on. if you choose a boneless option the baking time will vary. you will have to cook it covered for 20 minutes than braise and cook uncover for 10 minutes than flip and braise the other side and cook it for extra 10 minutes. boneless chicken needs less time than with bones chicken pieces.
For the Chinese 5 spices blend: you can find it in the grocery store under the Asian food section but I usually like to do it home , because it is fresher and it have more authentic ingredients and so easy to do you can check out the recipe in this article on my blog “homemade Chinese 5 spices blend”