Five Spice Rubbed Roast Chicken with Orange Sesame Glaze

Jenny and I have been in a food rut lately. I don't know if the busy holiday season, the increasingly shorter and colder nights or what exactly caused the rut. But there it was, all rutty with the same types of food over and over. Thankfully Jenny recognized it for what it was (in all of its ruttiness) and mandated that we branch out. We came up with the idea of trying new cuisines every month culminating in a small dinner party to show off what we learned.

This month is Chinese. I don't know why. I don't really even know that much about traditional Chinese food. But I had a chicken to roast and I figured that was something that could be done in Beijing as well as Portland, so I had at it. I looked up a couple recipes online, but didn't really find what I wanted. Orange Sesame Glazed Roast Chicken. I had to make it up. Turned out all right. But like I said, it's probably not that Chinese. I guess we'll have to settle for Pan American for January and work our way to Chinese by April.

Inspiration: Chicken in the freezer
Time: 20 minutes prep and 2 hours to cook
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Roasting Pan
Servings: Depends on the size of the chicken

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh Orange Juice (or OJ not from concentrate
1 whole star anise
2 cloves garlic
1" cube of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Whole Fryer Chicken
2 Tablespoons Chinese Five Spice
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Black Pepper


1. Bring OJ to a boil with star anise over medium-high heat and reduce to 1/2 a cup. Discard anise.

2. Mash to past the garlic and ginger with a pinch of salt. Mix in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and reduced OJ. Baste chicken when you reduce your oven temperature to 375 degrees, and every 20 minutes there after. If the skin darkens too much, cover with a sheet of foil.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry chicken. Drizzle a little olive oil over the bottom of the roasting pan.

4. Mix together Five Spice, Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Pepper. Sprinkle over all sides of the chicken. Truss the chicken so that the legs and wings are firmly pressed to the body of the chicken. (If you don't know how, check this video out.) Place the trussed chicken in the roasting pan, breast side up. Place in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and cook until a thermometer reaches 155 degrees.