Garlic, Coriander & White Pepper Stuffed Roast Chicken

– KAI YANG –

THAILAND / LAOS

What makes this Thai street food classic quite different from the typical English roast chicken is the marinade. The aromatic salty combination of soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, coriander, lemongrass and pepper flavours the bird and turns its skin a glorious deep brown during roasting. A young chicken (poussin) is usually spatchcocked and barbecued, or spit-roasted whole on a rotisserie. I’ve adapted this kai yang recipe for the oven using a regular bird, so it’s perfect for a juicy Sunday roast even in typical gloomy British weather.

Serves 4

• 1 whole free-range chicken (about 1.5kg)
• groundnut oil

For the marinade

• 8 cloves of garlic
• roots (or stalks) from a bunch of fresh coriander
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper

For the stuffing

• 6 stalks of lemongrass, white part only
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
• a bunch of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks
• a bunch of spring onions
• 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon groundnut oil

To serve

• sweet chilli sauce (here) and/or chilli honey / tamarind sauce (here)

1. Finely chop the garlic and coriander roots or stalks for the marinade. Combine with the rest of the marinade ingredients, adding a splash of water (about 3 or 4 tablespoons) and stirring to mix well. Rub all over the chicken, then let the chicken sit in the marinade in a large resealable bag in the fridge overnight. Turn the bag occasionally so that all sides stay coated.
2. The next day, take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come back up to room temperature. Pat with kitchen paper to remove the marinade and place on a roasting tray. Drizzle lightly with groundnut oil.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Make the stuffing by chopping and pounding or blending all the ingredients together until you get a coarse paste. Push the stuffing into the bird’s cavity.
4. Place the tray with the chicken on the middle rack of the oven and roast for 1½ hours. Baste the bird with its own juices every half an hour. When ready, remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. Carve and chop into generous bite-size pieces, and serve with steamed sticky rice and the chilli and tamarind sauces.