CHICKEN INASAL

Chicken inasal image

Set yourself a cook's challenge with our Filipino-inspired chicken inasal. It's packed full of zingy flavours, from lime and lemongrass to ginger and garlic

Provided by Rex De Guzman

Categories Dinner

Time 1h10m

Number Of Ingredients 28

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Ingredients

2 poussin, spatchcocked
60ml achuete oil (see tip below)
1 banana leaf, to serve
1 spring onion, sliced, to serve
1 garlic bulb, roughly chopped
30g ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red onion, roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped
8 black peppercorns
1 lime, juiced
1 lemon, juiced (or 100ml calamansi juice to replace both the lemon and lime juice)
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
200ml cane vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g salted butter, softened
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp soft dark brown sugar
2 tbsp achuete oil (see tip, below)
1 bird's-eye chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped shallot or red onion
40ml cane vinegar
2 peppercorns
soy vinegar, to serve
achuete oil, to serve
atchara, to serve (see 'goes well with' below)

Steps:

Score the legs of the poussins and remove the wishbones. Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a bowl, add the poussin, cover and chill. Leave to marinate for at least 4 hrs.
To make the basting butter, mix the garlic with the softened butter. Add the lemon juice, soft dark brown sugar and achuete oil for colour. Mix well.
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and heat a griddle pan over a medium high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Season and coat with the achuete oil. Put upside-down on the griddle for 5 mins until the skin is crisp and golden, then flip over and transfer to the oven for 20-30 mins until cooked, checking and basting occasionally with butter. Leave to rest for 5-10 mins before serving.
While the poussins are grilling, make the sinamak by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
Cut the banana leaf into two 25 x 12cm rectangles using scissors. Run them under water, then toast in a dry pan, lightly blow torch or grill until toasted (this releases the natural oils and makes the leaf shiny). To serve, put the toasted banana leaf on a plate, top with a poussin, a spoonful of the atchara, a sprinkling of spring onions and serve the sauces and sinamak alongside.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1198 calories, Fat 89 grams fat, SaturatedFat 38 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 43 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 31 grams sugar, Fiber 4 grams fiber, Protein 54 grams protein, Sodium 1.4 milligram of sodium