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Chinese five spice roasted chicken served on the plate with dipping sauce on the side.

Chinese Five Spice Chicken

Easy homemade Chinese five spice chicken recipe made of juicy tender roasted chicken with Classic Asian five spice marinade sauce. Serve with a bowl of jasmine rice and steamed vegetables.
5 from 16 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese Cuisine
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Marinate Time: 2 hours
Servings: 4 -5
Calories: 470kcal
Author: Khin

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Baking tray with rack

Ingredients

Chicken and Marinade

  • 1 Whole Chicken About 1.5 kg/53oz ( skin-on chicken cut into big pieces )
  • 4 tbsp Light soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp Dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp White pepper powder Or black pepper
  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • 1 tbsp Shao Xing Wine
  • 1 tsp Grated garlic
  • 1 tbsp Sugar optional
  • 3-4 slices Ginger
  • 4-5 stalks Spring onions white part

Basting sauce

  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 1 tsp Cooking oil vegetable or neutral flavour oil
  • Leftover sauce from chicken marinade
  • 1 tbsp Water

Instructions

Cut the chicken

  • Cut the skin-on whole chicken into big pieces. If you are using pre-cut chicken, you can skip this step.
  • Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and trim off excess fat. Cut the legs off by the joint between the body and thigh. Remove the backbone by using kitchen scissors. Cut the wings part through the natural joint. Place the chicken breast side down and press down with a knife at the center of the cartilage and breast bone. Flip and cut through the chicken breast skin in the middle. See detailed in photo and video instructions.

Marinade overnight

  • In a large mixing bowl add all the marinade ingredients and whisk everything well. Then add the cut chicken pieces and coat each chicken piece with the marinade sauce mix. Then cover it with the cling film and keep it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Roast in oven

  • Take the marinated chicken out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes before adding it to the oven. Cover the baking tray with kitchen foil and place the rack over it.
  • Place the chicken pieces skin-side up on the rack, and add the tray in the middle of the oven. Leave to bake in the preheated oven at 180°C (350°F ) for 25-30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, the chicken is roasting you can prepare the basting sauce. In a small pot, add the leftover sauce from the chicken marinade. Then add honey, cooking oil, and water. Heat the pot to boil then lower the heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until the sauce starts to get thickened.
  • Then remove it from heat and set it aside. After 30 minutes of baking, baste each chicken piece with the basting sauce. Then place it in the oven and continue roasting at 180°C (350°F ) for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
  • Brush with the basting sauce and chop into medium slices or pieces. Enjoy with steamed rice and blanched vegetables.

Notes

  • Roasting time can be varied according to the size of the chicken and the type of oven you use. 
  • Once the chicken is cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes before serving for the best moist and juicy result.
  • You can make chicken stock/broth or soup with the discarded backbone. 
  • Use skin-on chicken to achieve the moist and juicy roasted chicken result. 
  • Chinese five spice powder - is a powder mixture of ground spices, cinnamon, fennel seed, Sichuan peppercorns, white pepper, star anise, cloves, etc. You can buy it at Chinese/Asian grocery stores or Amazon online. 
  • Shao Xing Wine - is a Chinese cooking rice wine. You can add Japanese mirin or dry sherry as a substitute. If you are cooking a halal or non-alcohol version, you can omit it or add rice vinegar. 
  • How to check if it is cooked? When you pierce the chicken's inner deep part with a knife or fork if the juices run clear the chicken is cooked. Or you can check with a meat thermometer by inserting the thickest part of the meat. If the internal temperature of the chicken has reached around 165°/76°C, it is cooked.  
  • What to serve together? This roasted chicken is delicious on its own but you can also serve it with leftover 5-spice basting sauce, sweet chilli sauce, or Chinese ginger scallion sauce. Pair it with steamed rice, egg fried rice, or stir-fried noodles, blanched pak choy ( bok choy ), cucumber slices, or a choice of salad. 
Nutritional facts are calculated approximately without rice or dipping sauce and it can be varied by a number of different factors. 

Nutrition

Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 1722mg | Potassium: 428mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 270IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 3mg
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