Salt-Baked Chicken

One of the best "dips" for this chicken is ginger sauce (listed below).

Salt-Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 4-5 lb chicken

• 2 stalks green onion, cleaned and broken in halves

• Few slices ginger

• 2 tablespoons oil

• Salt

• 5 bay leaves,

• 3 star anise seeds

• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn

• 1 cinnamon stick

Method:

1. Clean chicken, remove gut and excess fat in cavity

2. Dry chicken with paper towels outside and cavity

3. Use toothpicks to poke holes all over chicken

4. In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons oil

5. Spread mixture on chicken inside and out

6. Stuff green onions and ginger in cavity

7. Place chicken in a large bowl and wrap with plastic wrap

8. Put in fridge for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight

9. In a large pot, heat 6lbs salt, bay leaves, star anise seeds, Sichuan pepper corn and cinnamon stick over medium high heat

10. Stir constantly until salt mixture is hot

11. Take out half mixture and set aside

12. Wrap chicken with parchment paper

13. Tie chicken with butcher’s twine

14. Place chicken in pot and pour salt mixture back to pot

15. Make sure wrapped chicken is completely buried by salt mixture

16. Put lid on pot

17. Cook for 15 minutes then turn heat to medium

18. Cook for 30 minutes

19. Take chicken out of pot

20. Brush off salt from parchment paper

21. Cut chicken into pieces

22. Serve warm with dipping sauce

Ginger Sauce:

1. Mix 3 tablespoons minced ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder and 1/2 teaspoon sand ginger powder in a bowl

2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in pan at medium high heat

3. Pour hot oil over mixture in bowl

4. Mix well