5 Spice Glazed Chicken

Best served with: Rice or Vietnamese Cucumber Salad

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 4-pound chicken or 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (breast will also work).
• Salt
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup mirin (rice wine)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger ( I use ginger paste from a tube)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or pounded
• ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 4 scallions, green and white parts slivered.

How to make it:

• Prep the chicken the day before you want to cook. If using a whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces.
• Whisk soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, five-space and cayenne. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Seal the bat and squish the marinade around so all the chicken is evenly coated. Refrigerate overnight.
• At least one hour before you want to cook the chicken, pull it out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• To cook, place chicken skin side up in a shallow 8 by 13 inch roasting dish, then pour the marinade over the meat. The marinade should cover the bottom of the pan. If it doesn’t, add 2 tablespoons of water to ensure even coverage and prevent burning.
• Remove the breasts, if using, after 20 minutes of cooking to prevent overcooking. Continue to cook dark meat for another 20 to 25 minutes, until it’s tender at the bone, or a total of 45 minutes.
• [Skip if no chicken skin] When the dark meat is cooked, return the breasts to the pan and crank the oven to 450 F to let the sauce reduce and the skin to get dark brown and crisp, about 12 minutes. Serve warm, garnished with cilantro and slivered scallions.