Here's a Chinese recipe for Five Spice Chicken that ensures that the chicken turns out always moist.
It is one that my grandmother handed down to my mom & she handed down to me.
Five Spice Chicken
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1 whole fryer
Marinade:
1 Tbs. brown sugar
4-1.2 Tbs. soy sauce
3 slices ginger, cut into 1/8" strips
2 Tbs. five spice powder (available in a cellophane pkg. at an Asian food market
Clean chicken with salt & water, remove all giblets. Rinse chicken & blot dry with paper towel so chicken will absorb marinade.
Mix marinade in a large mixing bowl. Add chicken to marinade. Cover & place in refrigerator for 24 hrs. or so. Turning occasionally.
Place chicken on vertical or horizontal roasting racks. Place in preheated 350 degres oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hour of until done. Cool at least 15 minsutes before carving and serving.
This recipe is fool-proof because when I had just gotten married to my first husband, I made this and forgot when I had put it into the oven. When I finally remembered the chicken, it was all black & I thought I'd have to throw it away. I peeled away the black skin to find that the meat inside was still very tender. This is a proven "fool-proof" Chinese recipe which was handed down to me by my Mom, who got it from her Mom who was born in Canton, China. It's called Five Spice Chicken (which is the direct translation of the Chinese name for this dish). The Five Spice Ingredient can be purchased at any Chinese food/produce store in their spice section in a cellophane type small bag.
This one doesn't have very much sugar or salt since it is spread over an entire whole fryer chicken.
