Five-Spice Roasted Cornish Hen Rice Plate

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A Vietnamese rice-plate classic built for a home oven: split Cornish hens (or bone-in chicken thighs) marinated overnight in five-spice, soy, garlic and honey, then roasted hot until the skin lacquers to a deep mahogany. The rendered chicken fat gets stirred into garlicky jasmine rice, and a bright carrot-daikon pickle plus a bowl of nuoc cham cut through the richness. Restaurant-plate results with about 20 minutes of hands-on work.

Ingredients

• 2 Cornish hens (about 1 1/4 lb each), split in half through the breastbone, or 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 5 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter or reserved chicken fat
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1 cup carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 cup daikon radish, cut into matchsticks
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 handful cilantro sprigs and mint leaves

• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp warm water
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Thai chile or serrano, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Make the marinade: in a large bowl, whisk the soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, brown sugar, five-spice, grated garlic, ginger, neutral oil, sesame oil, black pepper and 1 tsp salt until the sugar dissolves.
2. Pat the hen halves very dry with paper towels, then add them to the bowl and turn to coat, working marinade under the skin where you can. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours, turning once. (Chicken thighs need only 2 hours.)
3. Make the pickles: stir the rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and warm water in a bowl until dissolved. Add the carrot and daikon, press them under the liquid, and refrigerate at least 45 minutes (up to 3 days).
4. Whisk all the nuoc cham ingredients together until the sugar dissolves; taste and adjust with more lime or water so it is bright and lightly salty. Set aside.
5. Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the upper third. Set a wire rack inside a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Remove the chicken from the marinade, letting excess drip off, and arrange skin side up on the rack, leaving space between pieces. Reserve the marinade in a small saucepan. Let the chicken sit at room temperature 20 minutes.
6. Simmer the reserved marinade over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until slightly syrupy; this becomes your basting glaze. Remove from heat.
7. Roast the hens for 25 minutes. Brush generously with the cooked glaze, then continue roasting 12 to 18 minutes more, brushing once more at the end, until the skin is deep mahogany and the thickest part of the thigh registers 175°F on an instant-read thermometer (165°F for boneless cuts). If the skin darkens too fast, drop the oven to 425°F.
8. While the chicken roasts, rinse the jasmine rice in a bowl of cool water 2 or 3 times until the water runs mostly clear, then drain well. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the minced garlic and cook 45 seconds until fragrant but not browned. Add the drained rice and stir 1 minute to coat.
9. Pour in the chicken broth and 3/4 tsp salt, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce to the lowest heat and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and fold in the scallions.
10. Rest the chicken on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, spoon 1 to 2 tbsp of the rendered fat and pan drippings from the baking sheet over the rice and fluff again. Cut each hen half in two at the joint if you like, or leave whole.
11. Drain the pickles and toss with the sliced cucumber, cilantro and mint. Plate a mound of garlic rice, lean the chicken against it, pile the pickled salad alongside, and serve with nuoc cham for spooning over everything.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

One-Pot Chicken Creole

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem