Oriental Beauty Honey-Glazed Roast Chicken
Roast chicken brushed with an Oriental Beauty tea and honey glaze, where the oolong's natural muscatel sweetness deepens the caramelized skin.
Oriental Beauty's honeyed, ripe-fruit character makes it a beautiful base for a roast chicken glaze. Brewed strong and reduced with honey and soy, the tea brings a gentle muscatel sweetness that caramelizes into glossy, fragrant skin.
Because the oolong is already naturally sweet, you need very little added sugar. The honey simply amplifies what is already in the tea, while a splash of soy and rice vinegar keeps the glaze balanced and savory rather than candy-like.
Basting in stages is the secret to deep color without burning. Brush the glaze on during the last third of roasting, repeating every ten minutes so the sugars build up gradually into a lacquered finish.
Serve with steamed rice and simple greens, and keep a pot of brewed Oriental Beauty on the table. Sipping the same tea you cooked with ties the whole meal together with that signature honey aroma.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
- 3 tbsp Oriental Beauty oolong leaves (or 4 tsp brewed strong in 1 cup water)
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- Salt and white pepper
How to make it
- 1Brew the Oriental Beauty leaves in 1 cup of water at 90°C for 5 minutes, then strain. Reduce the liquor with honey, soy sauce, and rice vinegar in a small pan until syrupy (about 8 minutes).
- 2Pat the chicken dry, rub all over with oil, garlic, ginger, salt, and white pepper, and let it sit 20 minutes.
- 3Roast at 200°C (400°F) for 30 minutes.
- 4Brush the chicken with the tea-honey glaze and continue roasting, basting every 10 minutes, for another 30–40 minutes.
- 5Roast until the skin is deeply caramelized and the internal temperature reaches 75°C (165°F).
- 6Rest 10 minutes, brush with a final coat of glaze, then carve and serve.
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