Fragrant and deeply satisfying. Very much the best of both worlds. Serve with coconut rice and steamed mange tout sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.
- 1 whole chicken, around 1.5 kg
- Green tops of about 6 spring onions
- Small handful coriander stalks
- 3 thick slices of unpeeled fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled and lightly crushed
- ¼ lime
- 2 star anise
- 2 tbsp chicken fat (optional)
- Salt
- 3 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
- 1 heaped tsp cornflour
- Pre-heat the oven to 220C fan (240C)
- Place the chicken in a roasting tin that fits it quite snugly. Don’t wash it!
- Untie the elastic from around the chicken and free the legs and wings to stick up wherever they want
- Trim any excess fat from the opening of the cavity and remove any giblets if there are any
- Stuff the chicken cavity with the spring onion, coriander, ginger, garlic, lime and star anise
- Fully optional, but for an extra moist roast chicken, ease the skin gently away from the breast without tearing it and rub the chicken fat directly onto the flesh under the skin with your fingers
- Season the skin well with salt
- Put into the hot oven for 15 mins, then turn it down to 170C fan (190C) and baste
- Stick the timer on for an hour and continue to baste every 15 mins
- After an hour, take the chicken out remove the bird to a plate and rest for 10-15 mins
- Make a spectacular gravy with the cooking juices and brown bits from the pan, deglazed with the shaoxing. Add some of the cooking water from the mange tout, thicken with the cornflour in a tsp of water and season to taste.
Sophie cooks 
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