Recipe for Spicy Ginger Chicken

You will need to start this recipe 12 hours before cooking, for the chicken to absorb the flavours of the marinade. If you prefer, remove the chilli seeds.

Ingredients to serve 4 people as a main course

1 free range chicken, trimmed and washed

A whole head of garlic, all cloves peeled

1 red chilli, with seeds for extra heat, finely chopped

3cm of fresh ginger, finely grated

Black pepper to taste

4 tbsps. soy sauce

2 tbsps vegetable oil

200ml white wine

1 star anise

1 tsp. coriander seeds, crushed

4 cardamom pods, crushed

Zest and juice of a lemon

Decoration: fresh herbs to garnish – parsley, coriander…

Method

12 hours before cooking place the chicken in an ovenproof dish.

Mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover and chill. After six hours turn the chicken over, so that the top side now rests in the marinade. Continue marinading for 12 hours at least.

Turn the chicken right side up and leave covered to come up to room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes and then turn the temperature down to 180 degrees.

Baste the bird several times during cooking. After 1 hour, or 1 hour and a quarter, check the fluids with a skewer in the thigh. All the fluids should run clear. Rest the chicken somewhere warm for 15 minutes before garnishing and serving.