Here’s a classic Cantonese chicken and rice recipe, adapted for the modern kitchen. Simply seasoned, no spills or frills.

Time: 3/5
Start the rice first, and everything should be done at the same time.

Effort: 3/5
I love it when the oven does most of the work.

Country Road

Of the hundreds of different ways to cook chicken, I’ve tried plenty of them myself – often, by borrowing from different cultures around the world. But sometimes, it’s worth looking around for ideas closer to home.

Southern China is home to multiple ethnic sub-groups, each of them with their own culinary traditions. One of them is the Hakka, who are descended rom Northern Chinese peoples who migrated to and settled in the south to escape war and famine. Hakka cuisine is full of simple no-frills recipes that warm the body and soul. Think dishes like pork belly braised with yams, or deep fried tofu stuffed with fish.

One of the best known Hakka recipes for chicken is Salt-roasted chicken – so named because the original recipe involves baking a whole chicken by covering it in a thick layer of very hot salt. That’s quite a bit of work, and most families simplify the procedure and create their own version.

For example, my family just uses a ready-made spice mix from the store to season the chicken, lines the bottom of a rice cooker with scallions and ginger, and sticks the chicken in there for two cycles.

Now that I’ve moved out and mostly cook in the context of meal prep, I wanted to see if I could adapt salt-roasted chicken for that purpose. The changes I made were to use skin-on thighs instead of the whole chicken, to make the spice rub myself, and to use the oven instead of the rice cooker.

The results were passably good, considering that I’m mass producing lunches here. A whole chicken cooked with wet heat is going to be more moist and tender, but I also like the convenience of boneless thighs and the crisp brown skin you get from the oven. As for the spice mix, it’s close enough to the store bought stuff and worth the extra peace of mind from knowing exactly what went into it.

The only tricky ingredient you might have trouble sourcing is the sand ginger. It’s a close cousin of ginger and galangal, and is usually sold as a dry powder. It’s less spicy, earthier, and woodier than common ginger is, so I’m afraid you can’t just substitute regular ginger and call it a day.

Thankfully we live in a modern, globalised and interconnected world where you can go to an Asian grocer and buy yourself some. Or worse comes to worse, get some online. The dried powder lasts for years, so don’t worry about it going bad while thinking of other uses for it.

Dramatis Personae

Served 6.

Boneless, skin on chicken thighs – 1kg

I cook with them so much that I buy these frozen 1kg packs in bulk and get them delivered. Usually I recommend no substitute, but here I make an exception to the rule.

Maybe it’s the nostalgia speaking, but the variety in texture and taste you get from a whole chicken makes the eating experience so much more interesting. Different skin-to-meat ratios, white meat and dark meat, etc. Plus, eating around the bones is much more fun when everything on the chicken, from the skin to the meat to the gristle, is so well seasoned.

So, if you want to use a whole chicken in this recipe you have a rare SWR blessing to do so. Spatchcock it if you think the effort is worth the reduced cooking time.

Spice mix

You’re gonna hate me because I don’t know what the measurements are, but part of the magic is in not knowing exactly how the recipe will turn out.

I used about a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon each of sand ginger and white pepper, and a teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder. The last one is optional and you can substitute with the same amount of salt, but it’s part of the reason why store bought spice mixes are so good.

Some families add sesame oil to their spice mix to turn it into a paste, and some use scallion oil instead. Both are great ideas in terms of making the chicken taste amazing , but I’m holding out on the extra fat because I’m watching my calories.

Aromatics

Also optional,  but my family always made salt-roasted chicken with scallions and ginger so it’s what I do too. They kind of fry up a bit in the rendered chicken fat, and they add a lot to the taste and the aroma.

The more the merrier, within reason. You don’t have to peel the ginger if you scrub it well beforehand (since you won’t be eating it), and slice into thin pieces. Scallions can be left whole, or cut into more manageable sections.

Vegetables – 3 heads of broccoli

Always eat your veggies! Chicken, broccoli and rice has an undeserved reputation as the go-to meal of the dude-bro gym rat who eat nothing but boring food. I don’t deny being a dude-bro gym rat, but this meal is anything but boring and I want the vegetables to stay in the background while the chicken shines.

I’m pre-blanching the broccoli (a lesson I learned a while ago), then stir frying them with the aromatics left over from the marinade. It’s efficient and minimises wastage, plus it makes the broccoli a bit more exciting than if they were steamed plain.

Executive summary

1. Rub chicken with marinade and aromatics, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Begin cooking by starting the rice cooker. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
3. Lay chicken onto a foil and parchment lined baking sheet, skin side up. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
4. Bring water to a boil while cleaning and cutting the vegetables.
5. Blanche broccoli for 2-3 minutes, then drain.
6. Using a bit of oil in a skillet on high heat, stir fry the aromatics left over from the marinade until fragrant.
7. Add blanched broccoli and stir fry briefly. Season to taste.
8. Assemble and serve.

Play by Play

Last things first, the night before. Marinade goes onto the chicken, chicken goes into the fridge.

Cooking time. I start preheating the oven while I line the baking sheet. Onto the top rack this goes. Don’t worry about getting all of the ginger and scallions out onto the tray, we’ll have other uses for that.

Always wash your veggies! Broccoli is mid-tier for ease of meal prep, but it’s been a while since I’ve had it and I don’t mind the work tonight. I start bringing salted water up to a boil while I break the heads down, and things come to a simmer when I’m done.

Here’s the chicken-y aromatics left from the marinade. Would be a waste if we just tossed it, wouldn’t it? Let’s cook the vegetables with them instead.

Oil in hot skillet, aromatics in, quick stir until you can smell them, then blanched broccoli in. Stir around to coat them with the aromatic oil, season to taste.

The chicken has been done for a couple minutes already by this point, and I just left them in the oven. No need to worry about overcooking because thighs are pretty much bulletproof.

Dinner time! Served with rice, and a nice pineapple soda my SO whipped up on the spot.

Nothing fancy here, just pineapple chunks canned in syrup plus soda water and ice cubes. Personally I would mash the pineapple up and added a few drops of lemon juice, but the boss likes her chunks.

Mmh. Sand ginger, salt, and very little else. Hope you give this one a go!

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