Chinese Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

1 chicken, about 2 1/2 – 3 lbs
4 garlic, lightly pounded
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced

Marinade:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon Chinese rose wine (or Shaoxing wine)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 dashes white pepper

Skin Coating:
1 tablespoon Chinese rice vinegar (clear in color)
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon Chinese rose wine

Method:

1. Clean the chicken with water and pat dry inside and out. Truss the chicken. (I did only the legs part and not whole body.)
2. Mix the Marinade ingredients well in a small bowl and rub it generously on the skin of the chicken and also the cavity. Insert the garlic and ginger inside the cavity and then transfer it into a Ziploc bag. Pour the remaining Marinade into the bag and marinate the chicken overnight. You can turn the plastic bag to make sure that the chicken is evenly marinated.
3. The next morning, mix the Skin Coating ingredients well in a small bowl. Take the chicken out of the plastic bag, discard the garlic and ginger in the cavity and scald the chicken with hot boiling water by pouring the water all over the chicken (this will remove the Marinade on the chicken skin.) Air dry the chicken for about 30 minutes at room temperature or until the skin surface is no longer wet. You can turn on a fan. Rub the Skin Coating mixture evenly on the chicken skin. Continue to air dry for about 3 hours. Turn the chicken over to air dry both sides.
4. Heat up the oven to 400 Degrees F. Place the chicken in a roasting pan (at the lower rack) and roast for about 10-12 minutes on one side and then turn to the other side. (If the chicken browns too fast in the first 10 minutes, cover the chicken with a layer of aluminum foil and uncover it towards the end so the skin doesn’t get too dark too quickly.) Roast for about 45 minutes or an hour, or until the skin turn nicely brown or golden brown. Remove from the oven, let cool a little bit, cut up and serve immediately. Save the juice from the chicken and serve with steamed rice.