This roast chicken brings together the best of British and Singaporean cooking

Coconut milk, lemongrass and spice make this Peranakan roast a fragant feast.

Nonya roast chicken with turmeric and lemongrass.

Shu Han Lee

less than 2 min read

4:00PMJuly 03, 2024.

Updated 11:37AMJuly 05, 2024

The Weekend Australian Magazine

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If I had to pick my favourite British food, roast chicken would definitely be a top contender. I love everything about it – the homely smell that permeates the kitchen as it cooks, the theatre of bringing a whole bird to the table and carving it, the delicious contrast of crisp brown skin and juicy meat.

This dish brings together the best of both worlds: the classic roast chicken and the fragrant Peranakan ayam panggang (grilled spiced chicken). The coconut milk, lemongrass and spices make this a special feast.

Try too my Peranakan prawn & pineapple curry and fish sauce omelette.

Agak Agak: Everyday recipes from Singapore by Shu Han Lee. Photography by Ola O Smit. Hardie Grant.

Nasi Kunyit, a Singaporean tumeric sticky rice, pairs perfectly with this lemongrass roast chicken.

Nonya lemongrass roast chicken

Ingredients

• 1 medium chicken (about 1.6kg)
• Vegetable oil, for greasing and drizzling
• For the marinade
• 100g shallots, roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, base only, finely chopped
• 1 large fresh red chilli
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• 200ml (generous ¾ cup) coconut milk
• Juice of ½ lime
• 2 big pinches of coarse sea salt

Method

1. Blend all the ingredients for the marinade together in a blender until relatively smooth – flecks of chilli or lemongrass are OK. Place the chicken in a greased roasting tin. Make a small slit at the bottom of the chicken breasts, then rub some of the spice marinade all over between the skin and flesh. Smear the rest of the marinade all over the chicken. Set aside for at least an hour.
2. When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan-forced). If you left the chicken in the fridge overnight, let it come back up to room temperature first. Drizzle the chicken with a bit more oil, cover the tin with foil and place in the oven for 1 hour.
3. After an hour, remove the foil and let it roast, uncovered, for another hour, basting halfway through. Finally, whack the oven up to 220C (200C fan-forced) and roast for a further 30 minutes or so until the chicken’s skin is golden brown and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
4. Remove the chicken from the oven and leave it to rest for 15 minutes before carving. It should be juicy and falling-apart tender. The pan juices will have all the flavours of turmeric, lemongrass and coconut, so make sure to spoon generously over the chicken to serve. 

Serves 4