Then one day, it disappeared from the bar and we thought it was just temporary but after a month or so it was still not back. We finally asked why they don't have five spice chicken anymore, and they told us that the cooks that knew how to make it had stopped working at the store. Baffling that they don't have standard recipes since they often have the same things on the bar.
Chinese restaurants in my area don't seem to have it on the menu, so then I decided to see if I could figure out how to make it and came across Marc Matsumoto's recipe. The picture looked really close to what used to be served at the store, so I gave it a go. You marinate skin-on chicken thighs for about a day, then broil in the oven or grill.
Notes:
- I used honey instead of maltose.
- I marinated the chicken for 48 hours and it was quite flavorful.
- It says you can boil the remaining marinade but I had almost none to speak of. If you want an appreciable amount of sauce for your chicken, consider making extra marinade.
- I think this would taste even better grilled.
- I served it with rice and steamed broccoli.
Verdict: It was a lot of work because I only have a small cooking rack and had to cook it in small batches. It was surprisingly close to the stuff at the grocery store! If it had more sauce it would have been perfect. I want to try this again but maybe double the marinade/sauce and see how things go. Rasa Malaysia also has a five spice chicken recipe I might try to compare.
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RECIPE: Chinese Five Spice Chicken
