Nordic · Main
Sunday Roast Chicken
An overnight shio koji rub gives burnished skin and seasoning to the bone — the easiest 'wow' roast in the book
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 70 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- Whole chicken, best quality — 1600 g
- Shio koji, blended smooth — 160 g
- Rapeseed oil — 20 ml
- Spring onions, trimmed — 300 g
- Lemon, halved — 120 g
- Black pepper — 2 g
- Thyme sprigs — 3 g
- Butter (optional baste) — 30 g
Method
- Rub the chicken inside and out with shio koji (10% of bird weight); refrigerate uncovered on a rack 12–24 hours.
- Wipe off excess koji thoroughly (it burns); pat dry; oil lightly and pepper.
- Roast at 170°C for 50 minutes, then 220°C for 12–15 minutes to crisp — tent any dark spots early; target 70°C in the thigh, 68°C breast, resting to 72°C+.
- Baste with butter and thyme in the last 10 minutes if using.
- Char spring onions and lemon halves in a dry pan or under the bird for the final 10 minutes.
- Rest the bird 15 minutes breast-down.
- Carve; squeeze the charred lemon over everything.