SAWCLicious: Lechon Manok - Filipino Style Roasted Chicken

To celebrate Christmas together in Brussels before my friends went back to Manila, we had an early Noche Buena dinner. One of the food that I was craving for is Andok's Lechon Manok. I have Mang Tomas sauce with me, so I decided to do some research on the recipe. This is my own version of Lechon Manok. It turned out to be a really easy recipe (marinade - oven - serve)!


Lechon Manok - Filipino Style Roast Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• a zip lock bag (should fit the whole chicken)
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. knorr seasoning (optional)
• 1/4 cup lime juice or kalamansi juice
• 3-4 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 stalks of lemon grass
• 3 pieces laurel leaves
• salt & pepper

Procedure

1. Place the chicken, soy sauce, knorr seasoning, sugar, onion, garlic, and lime juice into the zip lock bag. Shake the bag for a few seconds. Marinade the chicken in fridge for at least 8 hours. I recommend to marinade it for 1 day. Tip: Turn the chicken over half the time you marinade it so that the sauce will be absorbed by the other side of the chicken.
2. Remove the chicken from the zip lock bag. Rub the chicken with some salt and pepper. Then stuff laurel leaves and lemon grass inside the chicken cavity.
3. Cook in the over at 200° C for 1.5 to 2 hrs.
4. Once cooked, remove from oven and leave the chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Don't forget to remove the lemon grass and laurel leaves.

Best served with Mang Tomas Lechon Sauce or Soy Sauce with Sili Labuyo (Bird's Eye Chili) & white vinegar.