Toban Djan Honey Chicken

My first introduction to toban djan (chilli bean sauce) was at Esquire Kitchen in Bangsar some years ago. It was a farewell lunch for a colleague, if I remember correctly. The toban djan was served as a dipping sauce.

I thought it was quite nice - salty, pungent and robust. That was the last time I had toban djan until some years later when I discovered Lee Kum Kee's toban djan sauce.

I have been buying it on and off to make toban djan marinade for roast chicken. 

On its own, the chili bean sauce is very pungent and strong tasting. But add on some other ingredients, it mellows and becomes more agreeable.

When making a marinade, always make more so that there is more than enough to coat the chicken and have some leftover for basting or to make a sauce.

This batch was roasted the week before and lacked marinade, hence that lackluster dryish look. You see, I have not made marinade for roast chicken for quite some time, so I forgot the SOP hah..hah...

So I wised up and made double last weekend. The result was so much better in terms of appearance and taste.

This lot went into my food prep. I let the chicken cool down and I de-boned it using my trusty kitchen scissors. It is so much easier to eat in the office as I would not want to be struggling with bones. That's probably another reason why people prefer using chicken breast fillets - no bone to deal with.

So here is the recipe in case anyone is interested.

Toban Djan Honey Roasted Chicken

Recipe source : PH

Ingredients :

- 4 chicken legs, thigh and drumstick separated (you can leave it whole if you prefer)

Marinade :

- 1 clove garlic, finely minced

- 1 heaped teaspoon finely minced ginger

- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce

- 3 tablespoons toban djan

- 1 tablespoon honey

- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or any vegetable oil)

- a dash of freshly cracked black pepper

Method :

1. Combine all the marinade ingredients.

2. Put chicken pieces into a ziplock bag and pour over the marinade.

3. Squish the bag to distribute the marinade evenly over the chicken pieces and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight (I marinated for 2 days)

4. Before roasting, take the chicken out from the fridge and let stand for about 1/2 hour.

5. Line a baking tray and place chicken pieces in a single layer.

6. Reserve the extra marinade and use for basting the chicken or just pour over the chicken before roasting.

7. Roast at 180C for about 40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.