JULIA’S Fragrant roast Chicken with mango salad (Serves 4-6)

1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5kg), butterflied
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine or saké
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, roughly chopped
Handful  of coriander stalks
Juice of a lime
4 cloves of garlic
White pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Mango salad
2 mangoes, peeled and cut into large slices
Large handful of coriander leaves, plus extra to garnish
1 red shallot, halved and finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
2 tbsp roasted peanuts, plus extra to garnish

Dressing
Juice of a lime
1cm piece ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp brown sugar
1tbsp sesame oil
Sea salt, to taste
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Lime wedges, to serve

Method

Pat the chicken dry with paper towel and place in a non-reactive bowl or container. Place the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth. Pour over the chicken, ensuring it is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but ideally overnight, turning the chicken once or twice as it marinates.

Remove the chicken from the fridge and preheat the oven to 200C.

Arrange the chicken, skin side up, into a shallow roasting tray and pour over half of the marinade from the container or bowl. Pour 1/4 cup water into the base of the tray and roast in the preheated oven for 55 minutes – 75 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through and burnished in parts. About halfway through, pour the remaining marinade onto the chicken. In the final 15 minutes, use spoon the juices from the tray onto the chicken every 5 minutes to encourage a nice dark colour.

 Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes then cut into 8 pieces.

Meanwhile, for the salad, arrange the mango, coriander, shallots and chilli in a serving bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and scatter over some peanuts. Scatter extra peanuts and coriander over the chicken and serve with extra wedges of lime, the mango salad and steamed jasmine rice.

What else I’m cooking with…
East Gippsland garlic available at Georgie’s Harvest, South Melbourne Market. They bought 300kg of the stuff from East Gippsland farmer Justin Dykes, a grower affected by the bushfires and are selling it onto the public. It’s really good and an easy way to show your support.

What I’m eating…
The Cardamom buns at newly opened Falco Bakery in Collingwood.

You can follow Julia’s food adventures on Instagram and find more fab recipes via her website!