Make Your Own Roast Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Sakura chicken about 1.5 kg - available at NTUC
1 large or 2 medium onions, cut roughly into chunks
1 large carrot peeled and cut crosswise into 6-7 equal pieces
30 gm salted butter, softened
2 tsp pepper, paprika or other spice seasoning
1 lemon
180 ml white wine or chicken stock
20 gm salted butter, cold

Method:
1 Preheat oven to 200 deg C
2 Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut off the neck and feet of the chicken. Discard or use to make
stock. Rinse chicken thoroughly and leave to drain until it gets to room temperature.
3 Sit carrots in the middle of a roasting pan. Scatter onions around the pan.
4 Pat chicken very dry with paper towels. Gently separate the skin from the breast meat using your fingers or the blunt end of a wooden spoon. Do not tear the chicken skin.
5 Slip half the softened butter in between breast meat and the skin. Massage to spread the butter over the whole breast area.
6 Mix salt and spice seasoning together in a small bowl. Rub half all over the cavity of the chicken and the other half over the outside. Cut lemon in half and put into the cavity. Rub the rest of the softened butter all over the chicken, then sit the bird on the carrots, breast side up.
7 Roast about 1 hr and 10 mins until chicken is golden brown. Check after 1 hr. Wriggle the drumstick. If it moves easily, the chicken is done. Or pierce the thickest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear, the bird is ready. If roasting a smaller bird, check after 50 mins.
8 Remove roasting pan from oven, move chicken onto a large plate and set aside to rest 10-15 mins. Add the carrots to stock pot if making stock.
9 Place the roasting pan with the onions on the stove over medium high heat. Pour in the wine or stock and bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up brown bits on the bottom of the pan. When the sauce has reduced slightly, add cold butter. Swirl it around the pan, stirring constantly to make sure the sauce comes together. When all the butter has been incorporated, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. If the sauce is too tart, add a little sugar. Pour into a bowl.
10 Carve chicken and stir any acumulated juices into the sauce. Serve chicken with sauce on the side.

Serves 3-4 persons.

Courtesy of Ms Tan Hsueh Yun, The Sunday Times, 20 July 2008