Commercial Break: Savory Chicken

This is our first attempt to recreate the uber yummy, highly missed...Savory chicken. We think we came very close. Not quite there yet, BUT still oh-so-gooooooood! There were parts of the skin that really tasted like Savory chicken. And because it was brined with spiced soy sauce, the meat was so juicy and tender.

We read somewhere that you need to treat spice like tea. The flavor will only come out if you apply heat. Makes sense! So for this brining solution, you must simmer the soy sauce with the spice before using it.

Star anise, bay leaf, peppercorn and salt.

Love lemongrass.

Put all the spices in a pot, onion, garlic, soy sauce and 1/2 cup of water and simmer for 3 minutes.

Turn off the stove and put in the brown sugar and sesame oil. 

Wait for the marinade to cool before combining with the raw chicken. You can really smell the spices. Mmmmm....Store in the fridge and marinade overnight. 

NOTE: Use whole chicken. We only had thighs in the fridge. But this would be MUCH better with a whole chicken.

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SO EXCITED

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THINKING OF THE CHICKEN

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AND FINALLY, the next day...

 Put the chicken and the marinade in a pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Place chicken in the oven at 180C fan grill for 40 minutes. Do not discard the sauce in the pot. You will need it for the gravy.

Oh wow.

 I fried one piece to see if it makes a difference. YUM too.

For the gravy, remove all the chunky spices. Add 1/4 cup of water and 4 tbs of flour. Use very low heat.

For dessert, strawberries. YUM.

What you will need:
1 small onion
5 cloves of garlic
3 pieces of star anise
2 pieces of bay leaves
1 stalk of lemongrass
1 tbs of rock salt
7 pieces of peppercorn
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbs of sesame oil


1 whole chicken