Choose Hoisin Roast Chicken as a quick and healthy alternative to your usual dinner routine. Chicken legs can be quickly marinated in the morning and ready to go by dinnertime. To roast place the marinated legs on a wire rack into a 450 degree pre-heated oven and 35 minutes later - voila - perfectly crisp, juicy chicken. Paired with a salad or crusty bread - this is fantastic way to end the day.
I discovered Hoisin Sauce only recently as I went browsing in my local grocery store on a flavor adventure to see if I could successfully introduce some new flavors into my meal routine. I stumbled across Hoisin Sauce, by accident and to be honest, I was quite unsure of it at first, but decided to take a risk and get it anyway. The ingredients were quite exotic - a combination of fermented soy bean paste, garlic, sesame oil, vinegar and definitely quite a bit of sweetener- the bottle I picked up had about 9 grams of sugar per tablespoon.
The sugar actually made the sauce look quite promising as a marinade - because it is a vital ingredient in getting a really nice crisp. The first time I tried it, I was quite amazed, not only was the skin crisp but it had the texture of perfectly golden peking duck! The next time, I marinated the chicken and it was even better!
As a leftover, this chicken shines - I have shredded the meat into soups, used it as a topping for salads and in hearty sandwiches stuffed with sliced ripe tomato between nutty hearth bread. It is a great option for a quick weekday lunch, when working from home.
Let me know what you think!
Hoisin Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs with skin
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sambal olek or more to increase heat
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- In a zip lock bag, combine all the ingredients with the chicken legs. Mix well. Marinate chicken in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
- Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees
- Place chicken on a wire rack on top of a baking tray and roast in heated oven for about 35-45 minutes. Take out of the oven when fully cooked - you will know this when a cooking thermometer registers 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of one of the chicken legs.
Notes
- If you use a wire rack to roast your chicken there is no need to flip the chicken as the rack will ensure even heat distribution.
- Basting is unnecessary - the chicken skin is crisp and delicious as is
- I have found that there is really no need to "dry" the chicken with a paper towel prior to roasting to ensure crispness.
Leave a Reply