燒雞 Siu Gai or 焗雞 Guk Gai - Cantonese Home-Style Roast Chicken

Thanksgiving just passed, but roast turkey in our household was based on 燒雞 siu gai (roast chicken) or 焗雞 guk gai (baked chicken). The seasoning was pretty similar and I think it tastes great. I don’t have too much of a personal anecdote with this dish. I have fuzzy memories of when I was pretty young my mom would be massaging the seasoning on a chicken. I could smell the spices in the seasoning and really want it, so when she wasn’t looking, I snuck off with a pinch of seasoning for a taste.

Looking back at how the recipe was given to me, it reminds me when I first learned how to make 燒鴨 siu aap (roast duck), but that’s for another post. My uncle and dad spent most of the morning over dim sum arguing over who remembered the ratios of seasoning at certain kitchens under certain chefs. The kitchen lingo over that was 3-1-1 for chicken, which followed referred to an order of seasoning of salt, sugar, and the third thing was either chicken bouillon or MSG followed by other more dish specific things. The other thing they’d argue over which part of the ratio stood for what under what chef as well.

My mom took the time to record a recipe for me along with some other info about this translated below. Like most of our phone calls about food, I’m glad she included somewhat specific measurements for me to work with.

Mom: Okay, for 燒雞 siu gai (roast chicken), we Zhongshan people also call it 焗雞 guk gai (baked chicken).

So buy a fresh chicken, about three pounds. Then when you take it open, wash it clean. Then, strain out any water. Use paper towels to dry out the inside of the cavity. Then wipe clean the skin on the surface. Next, prepare the seasoning.

Add one and a half teaspoon of salt, next --
Me: -- Uhh, is that the big spoon, the tablespoon? (I was thinking if she was thinking of the porcelain spoons that is much closer to a tablespoon.)
Mom: Teaspoon. Teaspoon is the smaller one. One and a half teaspoon, like the ones for coffee.
Me: Hmmm …
Mom: A teaspoon, right?
Me: Yeah … Yeah …

Mom: One and a half teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of sugar. Uhh … Half teaspoon of chicken bouillon. Then next, you need half a teaspoon of five spice powder, half teaspoon of sand ginger powder. Then mix together. After mixing in the chicken cavity, sprinkle some in and using your hands, toss it.

With whatever remaining, add to the skin. Massage the flavor into the skin. Then with your hands, massage it. With skin, rub it so it’s easier for the flavor to penetrate it.

After you rub the chicken, place it (in the fridge) three hours -- three to four hours.

Then, just before roasting, add light soy sauce. Pour some light soy sauce and brush it so the skin has some color. Then place it in the oven using 350F. Bake for 40 minutes and the chicken is cooked.

After roasting for 20 minutes, flip it once. Then roast for another 25 minutes and then it’s cooked through. Typically, for a chicken that’s about 3 pounds, it will be cooked and that’s it. *(My parents have a really old electric oven that’s really strong.)

Me: Oh, you don’t use dark soy sauce?

Mom: No, you don’t use dark soy sauce. It would get too burned.
Me: Oooohhh …
Mom: You don’t need dark soy sauce, light soy sauce is good enough --
Me. -- use light soy sauce, okay.

Mom: For 扣肉 kau yuk, you use dark soy sauce. For chicken, you don’t use dark soy sauce. Light soy sauce is enough.

Me: Oooh, okay. Okay.

Mom: That’s it, it’s easy. Oh, I forgot to add to the cavity, if you want add ginger and green onions, then cup some ginger and throw in two pieces of star anise. I forgot that detail.

With the cavity, add just before roasting, with the ginger, don’t add it 3 hours early as it will make the flesh soft (in a bad way). Wait till you’re just about to roast it and then prepare the ginger (green onions and star anise). Then toss it into the chicken cavity. And with the two star anise pieces, slap them (with a cleaver) to break them apart and toss it in when you roast it to make it more fragrant. But you don’t need to add this.

For baked chicken, since you already have the sand ginger powder and five spice powder, that is enough flavor. It’s really fragrant. That’s how it’s made.

Me: Okay, thank you.

Recipe: (I had to make a few adjustments to this recipe to work with my kitchen.)

1 chicken, about 3-3.5 lbs (preferably free range)
1 1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tbsp five spice powder
1/2 tbsp sand ginger (galangal) powder
Ginger, 3 slices
2 green onion
2 star anise
Light soy sauce

Gently rinse the chicken of any excess blood, including the cavity. It’s best to set a large bowl in the sink with cold water and clean the chicken in it.

Pat the cavity and skin dry with paper towels.

Combine the salt, sugar, chicken bouillon, five spice powder, and sand ginger powder in a bowl.

Add about two-thirds of the seasoning to the cavity and rub it in with your hands. With any remaining seasoning, rub this entirely on the skin on all sides.

Place on a plate, uncovered in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Slice the ginger slices. Wash the green onions and cut into quarters. Using the side of a cleaver, slap the star anise pieces to crush them.

Drain the chicken of any excess liquid and add the ginger, green onions, and star anise in the cavity.

Drizzle light soy sauce on the surface of the chicken and rub it evenly over the skin until the chicken has a light even coating.

Place on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet and roast for 55 minutes to an hour, or until the thickest part of the thigh reads 160F on a quick read thermometer.

Let the chicken rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

For carving, separate the wings, thighs and drumsticks from the carcass and set aside. With the carcass, split it so you have the back and breast separated.

With a cleaver, cut the back in half lengthwise, not directly on the spine, but next to it. Then cut into smaller pieces and plate and repeat with other back half. With the breast, cut this in half and slice into pieces and plate. Slice the wings, thighs, and drumsticks and plate.

As you are carving the chicken, save the ginger, green onions, star anise, and any drippings for a dipping sauce. This is optional since the chicken is already well seasoned.

*Note: You can pre-mix the seasoning into a jar and scoop out 1 3/4 tbsp of the combined mix for each chicken later on.