Chili Bean Sauce Roasted Chicken

I was craving for a honey roasted chicken so I mixed some  crushed garlic, honey, soya sauce and fish sauce for the marinade. In a moment of madness I decided to add some chili bean sauce (toban djan). I don't know why I did that, perhaps I was trying to be clever. After mixing the concoction, I immediately regretted it as it smelled very pungent. I had to do something. I could just toss the marinade out and start over but not being one to waste, I figured that ginger might help to lift that heavy smell. And I was right.

But still, it smelled quiet strong. I proceeded to marinate the chicken anyway as I remember, some marinades do transform once they are cooked. A good example being the yogurt based marinade I used for this Roast Chicken which smelled very sour at the outset but became very aromatic once the chicken was roasted.

I left the chicken to marinate overnight and the next day I took it out of the fridge for it to come to room temperature. It took slightly more than 2 hours before I proceeded to roast the chicken.

About 20 minutes into roasting, a lovely aroma greeted me when I entered the kitchen. There was a hint of honey and some other aromas I could not describe. Phew! Thank goodness the marinade worked out, or else I would be stuck with a weird smelling and tasting chicken.

Another thing that I do with the chili bean sauce is to use it by itself to marinate chicken pieces for a few hours and then steam the chicken. I garnish with spring onions before serving. 

Chili Bean Sauce Roasted Chicken
Recipe source : Phong Hong in a moment of madness

- 1 whole chicken
- 4 cloves of garlic (pounded)
- 1/2 inch ginger (pounded)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili bean sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil

Method :
1. Clean the chicken and drain (or pat dry)
2. Pound or run the garlic and ginger through a garlic press.
3. In a mixing bowl add pounded garlic, ginger, honey, soya sauce, fish sauce, chili bean paste and oil. Mix well.
4. Place chicken into a freezer bag/plastic bag and pour in marinade and seal the bag.
5. Move the chicken around to spread the marinade evenly all over the chicken.
6. Place chicken in the chiller for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
7. Before roasting, take the chicken out and bring it to room temperature.
8. Preheat oven to 180C
9. Place chicken breast side down into a baking tray lined with aluminum foil.
10. Roast the chicken for about 40 minutes to an hour, basting every 15 minutes with the juices in the roasting pan.
9. Turn the chicken over after 30 minutes and continue to roast until golden brown and cooked through.