Peking Chicken Recipe
This perfectly crispy, moist and flavor-infused Peking chicken is the answer for those days when you want the flavor of peking duck but you can’t be bothered to cook one up. It's a cheat recipe that's low-effort yet impressive to serve up.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
Peking chicken marinade
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- 1 tbsp five spice powder
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
Peking chicken stuffing
- 1 head garlic
- 1 green onion
- 1 shallot quartered
- 1 apple quartered
- 2 star anise
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Blanch the chicken
- Place the chicken on a raised platform in the sink (i.e. a metal colander, baking rack, cooking cooling rack) and gently pour 1.5 liters of boiling water over the entire chicken.
- Flip the chicken over and do the same scalding technique on the back.
Marinade the chicken
- Mix together the salt, sugar, ginger powder, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, and five spice powder in a bowl.
- Rub it all over the chicken, inside and out. Use a small silicone spatula if you have to. Try to get the marinade under the skin without ripping it.
- Place the marinated chicken into a large bowl and cover with cling film or place in a large Ziplock bag. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. If you can, aim to marinate anywhere from 3 hours to overnight.
Optional but recommended: Stuff the chicken
- Take the chicken out about 20 to 30 minutes before you’ll be cooking it and stuff the cavity with garlic, green onions, a shallot, an apple, star anise and bay leaves.
Bake Peking chicken
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), if using a convection oven. If using a conventional oven, preheat it to 400°F (220°C).
- Fold the chicken legs under the bird to prevent burning. Truss the chicken using its own skin.
- Place the chicken onto a roasting or cooling rack on the middle rack of the oven. Place a large pan or roasting tin filled with about an inch or two of water beneath it to catch dripping and keep the chicken moist.
- Baste the chicken with the leftover marinade before popping it in the oven.Note: Reserve the leftover marinade!
- Cook the chicken for an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes will depend on the size of your chicken and the oven you’re using. The best way to make sure is to check the internal temperature. The thickest part of the chicken should read 165°F.
One last glaze
- When the chicken is nearly cooked, pour the leftover marinade into a pan or skillet and bring to a boil and then let simmer for 5 minutes so any bacteria gets killed.
- Open the oven, take the chicken out and generously baste the breast, thighs and wings with the thick marinade glaze.
- Turn the broiler to high, and let the chicken broil for about 3 to 5 minutes – keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn (too much).
Rest and serve
- Cover the chicken with tin foil and let it rest for about 15 minutes. This resting period seals in moisture and lets the juices redistribute. Result? More tender, juicier, and flavorful chicken.Serve it up and enjoy!
Notes
What to eat it with? The best way to eat Peking chicken is with all the usual Peking duck accoutrements – pancakes, cucumber, and plenty of hoisin sauce. You can get frozen pancakes that will keep for months at any Chinese grocery store. Same with hoisin sauce.
Do you have to stuff it? They say that stuffing mostly imparts juicier chicken flavor into the stuffing but I'd have to disagree. The chicken is so much more moist and the meat is more flavorful with the stuffing. It's a step that takes around 5 minutes to do so it's very worth it IMHO.
How do you truss the chicken with its own skin? Here's an easy video tutorial. No worries if it gets un-trussed as it cooks - just having the wings and legs safely tucked away for at least a part of the roasting process will ensure that it cooks more evenly and the wings and legs are less likely to get burnt.