Salt-Baked chicken (Yim Kok Gai) is one of my favorite foods.  The chicken is typically seasoned with generous amount of salt and dong quai (Angelica Sinensis) also known as female ginseng which gives an incredible aroma. It's then wrapped in parchment paper then buried in a huge wok of smoking hot coarse salt. The salt itself does not impart a hefty saltiness to the meat but instead, it retains the heat and cooks the bird evenly like an oven, locking all the flavors and basting the bird in its own juice. This result is a truly succulent chicken.

This is an easy fail proof version with only 3 ingredients baked in the oven. It's important to use a generous amount of salt so that the chicken is salty enough. By pricking some holes with the tip of a knife ensures that the salt is penetrated into the chicken evenly. And for that awesome aroma of dong quai, a generous amount is also required. After baking for 50 to 60 minutes in the oven, you will get a tender, juicy, salty and delicious chicken.  There will be some chicken stock produced naturally so you can drizzle them all over the chicken before eating. This is a dish that I can just eat by itself by pulling the chicken apart haha... no kidding!

Finally, as a tip, sometimes after chopping the chicken and serving in a plate, you may notice that there is some bloody liquid underneath the chicken. This is not a sign that the chicken in undercooked. This is an indication that the cavity is not clean enough. You need to discard the lungs inside the cavity completely. Normally, I will remind my chicken vendor to thoroughly remove organs from the cavity of the chicken. If I forget then I will remove them myself.

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken

1/4 cup sea salt

10 to 12 slices of dong quai (Angelica Sinensis)

1.  Clean and pat dry the chicken with paper towels.

2.  Prick some holes on the chicken with the tip of a knife.

3.  Rub salt all over the chicken including the cavity.

4.  Marinade overnight or few hours.

5.  Place the chicken on a parchment paper.  

6.  Place the dong quai inside cavity and outside the chicken.

7.  Wrap the chicken with the parchment paper. Fold the middle and sides upwards to prevent any liquid from leaking out.

8.  Wrap with another layer of parchment paper.

9.   Wrap with a layer of aluminum foil.

10. Bake in oven at 390 F or 200 C for 50 to 60 minutes.

11. Remove, unwrap parcel and reserve the chicken stock.

12.  Chop the chicken into bite size pieces and drizzle the chicken stock over it.

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