Char Siu Chicken

Method9 steps · about 9 hr

1. 1

   Step 1: Trim and discard excess fat from the chicken thighs. Mix the dark brown sugar (2 tbsp), salt (1 tsp), five-spice powder (½ tsp), white pepper (¼ tsp), hoisin, Shaoxing wine (1 tbsp), light soy sauce (2 tsp), sesame oil (½ tsp), minced garlic (2 cloves) and optional five drops food coloring. Rub this marinade over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

   Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator · 480 minUses 2 lb raw bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs · 2 tbsp dark brown sugar · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp five-spice powder · ¼ tsp white pepper · 1½ tbsp hoisin sauce · 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine · 2 tsp light soy sauce

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Keep the chicken refrigerated while preheating the oven to 375°F/190°C, with a rack in the centre. Take it out only when the oven and tray are ready. During roasting, check every 15 minutes and lower the heat or tent with foil if the sweet marinade scorches.

3. 3

   Step 3: Line a sheet pan with heavy-duty foil and oven-safe parchment or non-stick foil. Lift the cold marinated thighs onto the pan, spacing them apart. Keep the leftover raw-contact marinade for the immediately cooked basting sauce in a separate saucepan.

   Uses The marinated thighs, excluding leftover marinade reserved for boiling into the sauce

   
4. 4

   Step 4: Put the chicken in the preheated oven and roast for 15 minutes. Check the surface; tent with foil or lower the oven temperature if it is scorching.

   First roast and surface check · 15 minUses Chicken thighs on the lined pan

5. 5

   Step 5: Continue roasting for another 15 minutes, reaching 30 minutes of initial roasting in total. Check again for scorching, tenting with foil or lowering heat as needed.

   Complete the initial roast · 15 minUses Chicken after the first fifteen-minute roast

6. 6

   Step 6: While the chicken roasts, add the 2 tbsp basting-sauce water to the leftover raw-contact marinade in the saucepan. Bring the whole mixture to a full boil before using it. Add the 1 tbsp maltose and stir until melted, then turn off the heat. If needed, soften the maltose in the microwave in 15-second bursts before adding it. Keep a little of the boiled glaze separately in a clean bowl if you want the optional final brush.

   Uses Only the leftover marinade reserved after lifting out the chicken · 2 tbsp water for the basting sauce · 1 tbsp maltose

   
7. 7

   Step 7: After 30 minutes of initial roasting, pour some of the boiled glaze into a small basting bowl and brush it over the chicken, keeping the brush away from any clean glaze reserved for later. Roast for another 5–10 minutes, checking at 5 minutes with an instant-read thermometer. The thickest part of every thigh, away from the bone, must reach 165°F/74°C; continue cooking as needed. Clear juices alone do not replace this temperature check.

   Roast the glazed chicken and check doneness · 5 minUses Chicken after thirty minutes of initial roasting · Enough boiled glaze to brush the thighs, excluding any clean portion kept for the optional last brush

8. 8

   Step 8: Optional: after the thighs have reached 165°F/74°C, give them one last brush with the clean boiled glaze kept aside, then return them to the oven for about 1 minute for extra crust, watching to prevent scorching. Skip this action if no extra crust is wanted.

   Optional final crust · 1 minUses Cooked glazed chicken on its pan · Only the clean boiled-glaze portion kept away from the earlier basting brush

9. 9

   Step 9: Lift the finished chicken off the pan and divide among four servings, discarding bones as you eat. Rice and greens make good accompaniments if desired.

   Uses Choose this cooked chicken if the extra one-minute crust was skipped; exclude pan drippings · Choose this cooked chicken only if the optional final crust was taken; exclude pan drippings