This Chinese roast chicken recipe is a cross between a roasted chicken & Peking duck, this Peking chicken recipe is for days when you have that craving for a Peking duck, but chicken is all you have to work with
Chicken, love it to pieces! It's easy to find, reasonably priced and takes on the flavors you marinate it in and in this case, it's soy sauce and five spice!
This Peking chicken is super easy to make and just requires a bit of extra time for it to be marinated. Once it has marinated, you can stick it in the oven and voila you have a flavorful and aromatic Peking chicken, your house will smell amazing and it is absolutely delicious with a side of steamed rice or garlic fried rice (sinangag)!
INGREDIENTS FOR PEKING CHICKEN
- Chicken - For this Chinese roast chicken recipe, I used a whole chicken but you can easily switch it up and use chicken drums or chicken legs as well.
- Soy Sauce - I use both light soy sauce and dark soy sauce for this recipe. The dark syrupy soy sauce gives the chicken its dark color and the light soy sauce gives the chicken it's flavor and saltiness. If you cannot find dark soy sauce, you can omit it but you will lose out on the brown coloring on the skin.
- Sugar - I have used sugar, honey and maple syrup in this recipe and it works well with all of them.
- Ginger - I highly recommend using fresh ginger for this recipe. Ground ginger powder doesn't give it the same flavor and I find it too strong.
- Five Spice - For this recipe, I use Chinese five spice powder.
GINGER SCALLION SAUCE (Pairs Wonderfully with Peking Chicken)
This sauce is essentially 4 ingredients (salt, oil, green onions, and ginger) and it packs a lot of flavors. To use it, you would spread the green onion and ginger over the chicken and then eat it! I find it goes amazing mixed in with white rice as well.
You can find detailed instructions on how to make it and what to use this sauce on here: Ginger Scallion Sauce.
4 SIMPLE STEPS TO THE PERFECT PEKING CHICKEN
- Marinate. Dust ½ teaspoon of five spice inside the cavity of the chicken, then combine all the marinating ingredients into a ziplock or a large bowl with the chicken. You want to marinate the chicken for a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Cook the Chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before putting it in the oven. Stuff the ginger slices that you used for marinating into the chicken.
- Pre-heat the oven, and put the chicken in when it has come up to temperature. I highly suggest using a rack so that there is proper airflow under the chicken to allow it to crisp up a bit. If you don't have a rack, you can crunch up foil into little balls and rest the chicken on top of it.
- Create the Basting Sauce. Cook the remaining marinade over the stovetop and add honey or maple syrup at the very end to sweeten and slightly thicken it.
- Basting. This is where the magic begins. In the first 20 minutes of the roasting, the chicken will release its oil from the skin. Use a brush and baste the chicken with the drippings for the first hour every 20 mins. (If your chicken doesn't have oil drippings, you can use a tablespoon of oil and baste it with that.) After the hour mark, baste the chicken with the basting sauce every 10 minutes, approximately 2-3 times or until the marinade is finished.
HOW DO YOU KNOW THE CHICKEN IS DONE?
Cooking time will always be different and vary for everyone depending on how the oven temperatures are and big the chicken is.
I highly recommend a digital meat thermometer to take the guessing game out of how long to cook meat. Insert the digital thermometer at the thickest part of the chicken, which is usually the thigh.
When I first started using the digital thermometer for chicken, I had a very hard time finding the right spot and I would always insert it between the drums and the thigh which is just...skin! doh! You want to make sure it is inserted into the meat - not the gap between the drum and the thigh. 🙂
I took it out of the oven when it reached 165F (74C). For me, it took about 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach that temperature at 350F (177C).
Let the chicken sit for an additional 10-15 minutes before carving into it to allow the juices to redistribute into the meat, and so you don't burn your fingers. 🙂
The Kitchn has a great read on 'Chicken Still Pink After Cooking? Don't Panic' that explains the safety of the doneness of the chicken.
LOOKING FOR OTHER OVEN ROASTED MEAT RECIPES? TRY THESE!
- Sweet and Sticky Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork)
- Herb Roasted Turkey Legs
- Coffee Rub Roasted Turkey Thighs
- Sweet & Sticky Coca Cola Ribs
NEED A STUFFED ROASTED CHICKEN INSTEAD?
If you are craving a stuffed roasted chicken instead, head on over to The Hungry Bites and try out his 'Greek Whole Stuffed Chicken with Rice and Chestnuts' recipe!
DID YOU MAKE THIS PEKING CHICKEN?
If you made this, I want to see! Follow Pups with Chopsticks on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag and hashtag it with @pupswithchopsticks and #pupswithchopsticks. I love to know what you are making!
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Recipe Card
Oven Roasted Five Spice Peking Chicken
Joyce's Recipe Notes
- This chicken pairs amazingly with Ginger Scallion Sauce
- If you have leftover chicken, white rice and ginger scallion sauce the next day, throw it all together in a frying pan with an egg and a bit of soy sauce for a Peking chicken fried rice!
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- ½ teaspoon five-spice powder (for dusting the cavity)
Marinade
- ¼ cup light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (for the dark brown color)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 5-6 slices ginger
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
For Basting Sauce
- Leftover marinade (cooked)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)
Instructions
Preparations
- Lightly dust the inside of the chicken with ½ tsp of five spice powder
- In a large bowl or ziploc bag, combine the marinade and coat the chicken in it. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours. (Preferably overnight)
Prepping the Chicken
- Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking it and stuff the chicken with the ginger that it was in the marinade.
- Set up a tray with a rack and set the chicken on it. (If you don't have a rack, you can crunch up foil balls and set the chicken on it, you need airflow to roast the chicken optimally)
- If you are using an external digital thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the chicken, usually into the thigh without touching the bone. (Not between the drums and the thigh, but the thigh itself)
Making the Basting Sauce
- With the leftover marinade, cook it in a small pot over the stop top for 5-10 minutes on low heat.
- Add in 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey at the end to sweeten and thicken it. Set this aside for basting at the end.
Roasting the Chicken
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F (177C)
- Once the oven has reached 350F, place the chicken in the oven.
- After 20 minutes, you should see oil drippings. Baste the chicken with the oil every 20 minutes for an hour. (If you don't get any oil drippings, you can use 1-2 tablespoon of oil and brush it on instead.)
- Once the chicken has cooked in the oven for an hour, start basting it with the basting sauce every 10-15 minutes or until the marinade is used up. (approximately 30 minutes)
- Remove chicken when the temperature hits 165F(74C), which is about 1 hour and 30 minutes of cooking. This may vary depending on the size of the chicken and the stove settings.
- Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting it.
- Enjoy! 🙂
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
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josie says
Oh ! This is one of my kind of delicious spicy (i.e. the 5-spice powder) yummy chicken and the ginger/onion dip. Your receipe is easy to make . Thanks Joyce
Joyce says
No worries, I am happy you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Erica says
Even if I hadn't read the recipe, I'd want to make this gorgeous chicken based on the photographs! This is the sexiest chicken I've ever seen and I want to eat it immediately! Thanks for sharing! Oh, and yes, I did read the recipe lol. Pinning for later!
Joyce says
Thanks for such kind words Erica! Sexy chicken! First time hearing that!
Riva says
These chicken pictures look absolutely gorgeous! I always roast my chicken the same way, and have been needing an exciting new method. I'd love to try this! With my big crew of kids here, I have to cook 2 chickens to feed everyone (and sadly no leftovers, haha!). Do you think this recipe would double well?
Joyce says
For some odd reason I always have a surplus of chickens laying around here haha and I myself always just go for the dry rubs as well. Auto-pilot haha. Yes this doubles well! 🙂 There's nothing to this recipe, just the marinating and the basting and you won't run out of baste - I had extra! 🙂
Danielle says
What a delicious looking recipe! You're right, I always think about making peking duck, but am never motivated enough o hunt one down. Chicken on the other hand is so easy. Your chicken looks absolutely beautiful, I look forward to seeing if I can replicate it! Ginger scallion sauce is always one of my favorites. Especially for chicken dishes.
Joyce says
How I see is, chickens are easy to come by so why not use it right? and when you make it enough time, you will be well seasoned enough to tackle the duck! and yes the sauce is so so awesome even with just plain rice. 🙂 Thank you for your kind words Danielle!
Alyssa @ A Bite of Inspiration says
There's nothing in the world like a gorgeous roasted chicken and yours is BEYOND gorgeous! The color on it is spectacular-- my mouth is watering already. Love the use of the five spice powder here and great tips on checking for chicken doneness (my worst fear in life is undercooked chicken-- not even kidding) Can't wait to try it!
Joyce says
Aww thanks Alyssa! 🙂 Terry has a fear of raw chicken as well haha so it's not uncommon here to just see him nuking it in the microwave 'just to be sure'
Alison @ The Sunday Glutton says
This chicken looks delicious, especially that flavorful skin. And I can't wait to try that ginger scallion sauce. I agree on the thermometer recommendation - buying a meat thermometer has saved me from ever having a dry chicken again - definitely a must!
Joyce says
I don't know how I survived before a meat thermometer. I swear I was blind cooking meat before it haha. *High-Five* for no more dry meat! Seriously one of the best purchases in my kitchen. If you make nothing else, I'd highly suggest the sauce. Wierd eh? That stuff is magic and goes on everything and takes 5 minutes to make. 🙂
romain | glebekitchen says
Oh my that bird looks fantastic. I've made the mistake of roasting a sweet glazed chicken at a higher temperature and not been too happy with the results. I think 350F is just right. I am a big, big fan of asian flavoured roast chicken served with dipping sauces and the ginger scallion sauce looks perfect. Props on using an instant read thermometer as well. One thing - I am not a big fan of 5 spice (weird, I know). Is there something you think I could substitute?
Joyce says
I actually did the same thing a few times with putting the oven up to 400F, because logic says hotter means crispier! haha I got blacken chicken instead. A lot of people are actually not a fan of five spice, possibly the anise taste a little like licorice? Hrmmm I'd say just go for a pinch of cinnamon and that might work or omit it altogether, i'd probably even throw in a few whole cloves of garlic into the cavity with the ginger to give it some more flavour! but to be honest, I find it's the sweet glaze is what makes the chicken 🙂