Sunday 24 November 2013

Roast Lime Chicken : AFF Thailand


This roast chicken comes from the book The Ultimate Thai and Asian Cookbook which I believe will come in very handy for the Asian Food Fest event. The cookbook contains recipes from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam and Philippines. 


I have tried this roast chicken before, it must be 3 or 4 years ago when I prepared one of my family Chinese New Year lunch. I can't remember the response towards this dish as there were other dishes prepared and we were all very distracted hah! hah! The marinade is made up of simple ingredients namely garlic, salt, turmeric, coriander and lime juice.


All these (except the lime) are pounded into a paste. Just smear the chicken all over with the paste and then squeeze lime juice over the chicken. What I did was mix the lime juice together with the paste and I added 2 tablespoons of oil. That's just me not capable of following cookbook instructions :)


It's quite therapeutic rubbing the paste all over the chicken. I pretended that I was giving the chicken one of those Balinese massages. I really need a vacation hah! hah!

A very relaxed and well rested chicken.

The original title of this recipe is Roast Lime Chicken with Sweet Potatoes. The caption below the heading said "In Thailand this chicken would be spit-roasted, as ovens are seldom used. However, it works very well as a conventional roast. The sweet potatoes are an inspired addition". Ah....so I can use something else other than sweet potatoes and I chose pumpkins.

The roasted pumpkins were yums!!

The overall preparation is simple. I used fresh turmeric from my garden, digging them up from the ground and being careful not to confuse them with what the cat left behind. I placed the pumpkins on the baking tray and put the chicken on top and roasted the whole lot at 180C covered for 1 hour and 20 minutes. For the last 20 minutes, I removed the foil. The result, a delicious and aromatic chicken, tender and juicy and well complimented by the soft and creamy pumpkins.


I did not follow the recipe exactly as I did not prepare any gravy from the roasting juices. I felt that it was not necessary and the chicken was already good as it was. As I had some sambal belacan in the fridge and extra limes, I prepared a simple kerabu to accompany my meal.


Needless to say, I had a very satisfying lunch and dinner. Oh, I did not taste much of the lime in the chicken, perhaps my lime was too small? I did see some big organic limes at Aeon but they were going at RM9.99 for 4 limes. Nope, I wasn't going to spend RM10 for 4 limes. In my future roast, I'll probably use 2 limes and see if there is any difference to the taste.


So, if you are planning on roasting chicken and want to taste something different, try this Thai roasted chicken. You might just find yourself another keeper recipe.









Roast Lime Chicken
Recipe source : Adapted from The Ultimate Thai and Asian Cookbook (page 228)

Ingredients :
- 1 whole chicken
- 6 garlic cloves (3 to be pounded and 3 bruised and left whole)
- 1 small bunch of coriander with roots, coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 inch piece fresh turmeric
- 1 lime cut in half, squeeze to extract juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 500g pumpkin, cut into cubes (optional)

Method :
1. Pound garlic, coriander, turmeric and salt into a paste.
2. Add lime juice and vegetable oil into the paste.
3. Smear the paste all over the chicken.
4. Place the squeezed lime and remaining garlic into the cavity.
5. Place pumpkins (if using) in baking tray and put chicken, breast side up on the pumpkins.
6. Cover the roasting pan with foil.
7. Roast the chicken in a preheated oven at 180C for 1 hour 20 minutes or until cooked. 20 minutes before time, remove the foil and baste chicken with pan juices. Continue to roast until chicken in cooked.





I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest Thailand November 2013 hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings.



This post is also linked to Cook-Your-Books #6 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

36 comments:

  1. I think we cooked something similar but we used lemon. Also nice.

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    1. Arthur, roast chicken is always so good! Somehow it always turns out well provided you don't get it burnt :)

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  2. Hi Phong Hong
    Whenever I see whole chicken roast post, I always imagining how lucky those family who got to enjoy the roast chicken once it is serve on the table. The herbs and spice for the roast sounds really delicious.

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    1. Mel, this is something different for Asian flavours. I was very happy with the result and enjoyed every bite!

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  3. buono buono buono!!!! complimenti...un saluto...

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  4. Hi PH, I am feeling hungry too looking at the roast chicken. I cooked Thai food too and is Tom Yum Soup.

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    1. Cecilia, I love tom yum soup! I can drink a few bowls of it :)

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  5. Hi Phong Hong, I'm in love with all your roast chicken recipes. All looks so appetising, each with very unique taste and flavour. The pumpkin must be lovely. BTW, I tried your pumpkin with taucheo recipe, very good either with rice or porridge.

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    1. Thanks, Kimmy! I find roast chicken very convenient. Just marinate and throw it into the oven! I am glad you tried the pumpkin with taucheow. I want to cook that again soon :)

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  6. Wah RM10 for 4 limes is really expensive. Think I got 5 the other day (rather large ones too) for about RM4 only. :P Chicken looks goooooood!

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    1. Yen, it was in the organic section and everything there is pricey :( I'll just use more limes next time.

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  7. Hi Phong Hong,
    Any roast chicken would make me drool, and this with all the herbs and roasted pumpkin, drool big-time! Haha!
    The limes are so expensive! cheaper to buy from the morning wet market!

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    1. Hi Joyce! The roast chicken turned out well and best of all uses our favourite herb! The prices at the organic section is exorbitant :(

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  8. I must admit this color is rather unexpected when it comes to a chicken:)

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    1. Hi Ola! Yeah, greenish yellowish. Weird colour for chicken :D

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  9. I am loving this! I have never roasted a whole chicken before, but I would love to try!

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    1. Hi Cathleen! I love roast chicken as it is easy and so convenient. Do try it!

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  10. Drooling over your roast chicken.. I love roast chicken too.. Coz I can chuck whatever I want together with the chicken and just roast it.. It can never go wrong..

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    1. You are right, Louiz! That's why I do roast chicken quite often. Perfect for those lazy days when I don't want to do too much in the kitchen.

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  11. wow wow..you're just so good with all your chicken roasting! i really mean ALL! roast chicken with pumpkins, kerabu, sambal..i'm salivating already!

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    1. Lena, roast chicken is very simple. I am good at simple things only hee..hee...

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  12. Phong Hong, I'll crown you the best supporter of AFF, hahaha! Yoh, tell me about roast chicken, I love them all! But in the past, I did Orange Roast Chicken by following a recipe, my children didn't quite like it. I thought it was ok, so now I know my children don't like citrus flavour of roast chicken. The orange juice did turn a bit bitter but was fine to me.

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    1. Jessie, I also tried roast chicken with orange before but I did not like it. Tasted funny to me. I wish i could do more dishes to support AFF but aiyo, too many things to take care of at office and at home.

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  13. Adoi la Phong Hong... baik baik perut I tak lapar, tengok you punya roasted chicken ni, perut I pun pandai on dia punya music tau!
    Why is my roast chicken always tak nampak juicy like yours and others eh?

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    1. Ala........MamaFami punya chicken sure sedap jugak. Eh, pernah tayang ke your roast chicken? Nanti I ke dapur you dan korek-korek, silap-silap haribulan terjumpa ayam sekor :D

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  14. Belum habis baca Mulut I dah berair...ayam Ph ni nampak super sedap terutama Labunya tu..adoiya..lapar pulak malam malam buta ni ..Pssttt apa yang kucing tu tinggalkan hikhik hati hati arr

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    1. CM, labu tu punya lah sedap! Hee..hee...tahik kucing rupanya lebih kurang macam kunyit. Takut PH!

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  15. Your Thai styled roasted chicken looks simply yummy. All that marinade is making my mouth water.

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    1. Thanks, Mich! It is something different to add to my list of roast chickens :)

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  16. What a great meal you had ! The marinate made salivate!

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    1. Sonia, I enjoyed my lunch and dinner very much. Ho chiak!

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  17. Hi Phong Hong, your roasted chicken look extremely good, very moist and tender. Thanks for sharing the delicious recipe.

    Regards.

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    1. Amelia, this recipe is pretty good and I hope that you will try it!

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  18. Hi Phong Hong,

    I used this rempah and make a stew out of only pumpkin and it tasted very good. I plan to use other vegetables next time. Thanks again.

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    1. Hi Butterfingers! Wow, a new dish has evolved! I ought to try it too as I know I will love it :)

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