• 3 lbs chicken
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 6 lb rock salt
  • 2 tbsp sherry
  • parchment paper
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/4 cup peanut oil
  • 1 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 3 tbsp dark soy sauce

To make salt baked chicken, we will first wash the chicken and pat dry. Swab the chicken’s cavity with sherry and stuff with ginger, garlic and green onions. Now seal with clip or string.

Rub outside of chicken with dark soy sauce; allow to stand until soy sauce is absorbed.

Wrap the chicken in 3 layers of parchment paper, tie with string, coat outer layer with peanut oil.

Baking

In wok or large pot, heat rock salt, stirring periodically, until it begins to brown. Place wrapped chicken in rock salt, spooning some salt around sides and over the top.

Cook for about 10 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover with rock salt (but always have at least 2″ layer of salt under chicken) and cook for another 10 minutes.

This cooking time will give a moist, slightly underdone chicken. Increase baking time to 15 minutes on each side, for well done.

Lastly, remove chicken from salt, strip off paper and allow to stand for 15 minutes to cool and congeal juices. Cut in half, then into bite-size pieces. Serve your salt baked chicken with a soy dip.