Thai Roast Chicken

Thai Roast Chicken Recipe


Prep time1 : 5 mins
Cook time : 60 mins
Total time : 1 hour 15 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Roast chicken

•     1 good quality chicken, 3-4 lbs
•     salt
•     coarse ground pepper
•     vegetable oil to coat the chicken
•     ½ cup chicken stock

Rice noodles

•     8 oz wide rice noodles - ban pho
•     3-4 Tbsp chicken fat (from roasting the chicken) or vegetable oil
•     4 green onions, chopped
•     5-6 Tbsp nam jim (to taste)

Asian greens

•     8 oz asian greens of your choice (broccolini, boy choy etc)
•     2 Tbsp vegetable oil
•     2 cloves garlic, finely minced
•     1-2 tsp ginger, finely minced
•     ¼ cup chicken stock
•     splash of soy sauce

To plate

•     nam jim Thai dipping sauce
•     minced cilantro
•     thinly sliced red chili (optional)
•     chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions

Roast the chicken

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400F. Pre-heat your roasting pan (a skillet works well) in the oven.
2. Rub the chicken with the oil.
3. Season generously with salt and coarse black pepper
4. Roast the chicken, legs facing the rear of the oven for 15-20 minutes. Baste with pan drippings.
5. Continue roasting the chicken, turning occasionally to ensure the chicken roasts evenly, until the breast reaches an internal temperature of 165F and the legs reach 175F, about 25-30 minutes more. Remove from oven, place chicken on a cutting board with a groove to catch the juices and let rest while you cook the noodles.
6. Spoon off the rest of the fat, place the pan oven rmedium heat and add the chicken stock. Scrape up the little bits in the bottom of the pan and stir to get them to dissolve. Lower heat to as low as your stove will go.

The rice noodles.

1. Soak the rice noodles in hot tap water. They will need to soak for about an hour to soften properly.
2. Heat a frying pan or wok over medium heat.
3. Add the chicken fat or vegetable oil to the pan.
4. Drain the noodles well and stir them into the hot oil. You are finishing cooking the noodles. This takes about 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the green onions and nam jim.

Asian greens

1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and ginger and cook briefly, about 1 minute. Add the asian greens and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add a splash of stock, cover, and cook until just barely done. Add a splash of soy and stir.

To plate

1. Carve the chicken breast from the bone. Remove the wings.
2. Slice the breasts into bite size pieces.
3. Remove the legs. Cut the drumsticks from the thighs. Cut the bone from the thighs and slice into bite size pieces.
4. Pour any accumulated juices into the roasted pan with the rest of the chicken juices. The juices that come out of the chicken when you carve it are pure flavour. Never let them go to waste!
5. Place the noodles on a large plate. Place the greens on the noodles, then arrange the chicken overtop.
6. Spoon the roasting pan juices over the chicken and then drizzle with nam jim to taste. I like about 4-5 Tbsp of the nam jim here.
7. Garnish with cilantro, red chili and chopped peanuts.