Lacquered Cockerel with Eight-Spice Salt by Victor Liong
A whole chicken is a festive way to start the New Year, this dish symbolises wealth and prosperity in the New Year.
Ingredients
- 1 x Whole Fook Wong cockerel
- Lemon cut into wedges
- Japanese Worcestershire sauce
- Spring onion julienned
- Coriander leaves
Black vinegar gastrique
- 200 gm black vinegar
- 200 gm sugar
Eight-spice salt
- 240 gm Murray River pink salt
- 40 gm sugar
- 10 gm star anise
- 15 gm black pepper
- 10 gm Sichuan pepper
- 1 gm chilli flakes
- 15 gm white pepper
- 12 gm coriander seeds
- 10 gm fennel seeds
- 5 gm cinnamon
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare Eight-Spice Salt
- Preheat the oven to 150˚C. Toast spices for 15 minutes.
- Cool slightly and blend into a fine powder.
- Sift and blend with salt and sugar. Store in an airtight jar.
Step 2: Make Black Vinegar Gastrique
- Mix together the vinegar and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 15 minutes until a syrup forms.
- Allow to cool to room temperature.
Step 3: Prepare the Cockerel
- Cut the cockerel in half, lengthways from the back and debone
- Boil water in a kettle, place cockerel on a cooling rack and pour hot water over the skin, which will shrink back
- Season the flesh side of the cockerel with spice salt and leave uncovered in the refrigerator overnight
- Set up a steamer and steam the chicken on low heat, until the internal temperature has reached 65’C
- Allow to cool to room temperature or chill overnight in the refrigerator
Step 4: Lacquered Cockerel
- Brush cockerel skin side with the black vinegar gastrique and allow to dry out for an hour
- Heat oil in a deep fryer until it reaches 165˚C
- Deep fry cockerel for 4-5 minutes, or until the skin has turned into a burnished brown
- Rest for 10 minutes
- Carve and serve with more spiced salt, lemon and Worcestershire sauc
