Growing up I was always so amazed by my mother’s ability to produce beautiful and delicious whole roasted proteins for dinner. Whether it be chicken, duck, or turkey, I thought I would never be able to accomplish a meal up to her caliber. I probably still can’t, but there is no harm in trying, is there? So for last week’s home-cooked dinner, my little creuset and I set off to roast a whole chicken. Of the 3 meals we’ve made together, this was BY FAR the easiest. Who knew! Probably everyone else on this Earth…
INGREDIENTS (Note — you can find most, if not all, of these ingredients at your local Asian food mart):
- 2-3lb whole roasting chicken
- 1/2 can of coconut milk
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 thumb-size piece of galangal or ginger (I used ginger), minced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp mushroom soy sauce
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- optional: Thai red chilis, 1 kaffir lime leaf, cilantro
- 1/2 cup water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Rinse and pat dry the chicken.
2. In a food processor, blender, or chopper, process coconut milk, lemongrass stalk, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and soy sauce until well blended.
3. Place chicken in a baking dish (or dutch oven!) and using your hands, slather all the marinade onto and inside the chicken. You can stuff the cavity with some lime wedges, garlic cloves, red chilis, and anything else you might think could enhance the flavor. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 hours, 30 minutes at the minimum. Preheat oven to 325-350 degrees.
4. Pour water into the baking dish, cover and roast for 2-2.5hours. Check the oven every 30-45minutes for dryness. Scoop up the marinade and pour over the chicken to ensure that it remains tender.
5. Use a meat thermometer to check for when the chicken is done cooking.
Serve with limes, red chili, and cilantro. Enjoy!
