I love how quickly this dish came together with so few ingredients too. The chicken slightly sweet with a refreshing numbing from the Sichuan peppercorns. I roasted 3 chicken leg quarters at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes on a rack near the top of the oven and it came out juicy and perfect. I accidentally added too much honey, but it turned out for the better. Next time I'll add more salt and grind and sift the Sichuan peppercorns. The bigger pieces of the Sichuan peppercorns became burnt and bitter from being cooked too long. I'll also place the chicken on the rack closest to the top and switch the the broil on low for the last 5 minutes to crisp up the chicken skin even more. Make sure to foil the bottom of the pan because the burnt honey will never come off otherwise.
***note to self: use triple the amount of honey. Changes are adjusted below.
Sichuan Peppercorn Roast Chicken adapted from Pig Pig's Corner
Yield: Serves 5
INGREDIENTS
5 chicken leg quarters
1/2 bulb garlic
1 inch ginger
2 tbsp Sichuan peppercorn
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/3 cup honey
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp salt
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Line a pan with aluminum foil and place a roasting rack on top for the chicken.
Lightly toast the Sichuan peppercorns in a hot pan without oil until fragrant. Grind the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle and then sift the ground peppercorns.
Finely chop garlic and ginger in the food processor. Add shaoxing wine, honey and light soy sauce. Mix well and add the sifted ground peppercorns.
Make a few deep slits in the chicken with a knife. Sprinkle with the salt, then rub in mixture all over the chicken and in the cuts.
Roast in a pre-heated oven in the top middle rack for about 45 minutes. During the last minute, switch over to broil on "low" (this is a setting on my oven, otherwise disregard this last step).