Easy Five Spice Chicken

Five spice Chicken, yellow tomatoes and brown rice pilaf

 

 

This was easy & tasty, not too overpowering with the spices.  I halved the recipe, used boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut the bake time to 40 minutes.  The chicken came out cooked to perfect doneness, juicy and moist.

 Easy Roasted Five-Spice Chicken

4 garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
1 Tbls. kosher salt
2 Tbls. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. five-spice powder
1 Tbls. rice wine vinegar
6 chicken leg quarters, 4 1/2 – 5 lbs.
chili flakes, for garnish
minced parsley and/or sliced scallion, for garnish
Serves about 4

Make the marinade

Put garlic, salt, sesame oil and the five spice power in a bowl, add the rice wine vinegar.  (Rice vinegar comes plain or seasoned with salt and sugar. Use the plain kind for this recipe. The sugar in the seasoned version might burn. Rice vinegar gives the marinade a little acid, which balances the flavors.)  Whisk to combine.

Marinate the chicken

Grab your chicken leg quarters. Give them a quick rinse under cold water, then pat them dry (get them as dry as you can).  Toss each piece of chicken into the bowl and roll it around to coat in marinade. (You can also transfer your marinade to  gallon-sized, zip-top bags if you prefer to marinate that way.)
Let the chicken sit (covered, in the fridge) in the marinade for a few hours, or overnight, if you like. If you don’t want to wait, roast away!

Roast the chicken

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and/or parchment paper.  Spread the chicken out in a single layer.  Roast the chicken for about 50 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and crisp, and the chicken juices run clear. (On a meat thermometer, you’re aiming for about 155-160 degrees…be sure you’re not hitting a bone when you take its temp.)
Let the chicken sit, loosely tented under a piece of foil, for about 10 minutes to let the juices settle. Don’t tent it tightly-you want to keep the skin crispy.  Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Sprinkle with chili flakes and chopped parsley (or sliced scallion).