Recipe Index

Ingredients

• 5.6 oz. garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• 7 oz. shallots
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups palm or brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. shrimp paste
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 (1-inch) piece cassia bark, toasted
• 1 star anise, toasted
• 2 dried bird's eye chiles, toasted
• 1 Tbsp. dried shrimp
• 1 Tbsp. fried shallots
• 1 Tbsp. fried garlic
• 1 tsp. whole white peppercorns
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro root or stem
• 3 Tbsp. chopped garlic
• 1 Tbsp. palm or brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 very small chicken or poussin, about 1 lb.
• 2 Tbsp. sweet fish sauce

Method

1. Slice the shallots as thinly and evenly as possible, fry them gently in vegetable oil at about 284°F for roughly 12 minutes until golden, then strain them onto a paper-lined tray and tease the strands apart to crisp as they cool.
2. Pound the chopped garlic to a coarse paste in batches, fry it the same way in fresh vegetable oil at about 284°F until golden, and spread it on a lined tray to dry and crisp.
3. For the sweet fish sauce, dissolve 1 1/2 cups palm sugar in 2 Tbsp. water over low heat, add the shrimp paste, 3 Tbsp. fish sauce, cassia bark, star anise, and dried chiles, and simmer 5 minutes until slightly reduced and tacky when chilled on a plate.
4. Pound the white peppercorns and salt to a fine powder, work in the cilantro root and 3 Tbsp. chopped garlic to a smooth paste, and mix in 1 Tbsp. palm sugar, the turmeric, ground coriander, 3 Tbsp. fish sauce, and 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil to finish the marinade.
5. Cut the chicken along the backbone with heavy-duty scissors, open it out breast-side up, and press it flat with the palm of a hand so it cooks evenly.
6. Rub the marinade all over the flattened chicken and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or overnight.
7. Grill the chicken over medium charcoal heat for 15 to 20 minutes, cavity side down for the first two-thirds of the time and breast-side down for the last third, until cooked through and golden.
8. Rest the bird for 5 minutes, brush it liberally with the sweet fish sauce, and carve it into pieces through the joints and breast, serving the fried shallots, fried garlic, and dried shrimp alongside as garnishes.

Nutrition not computed — the source recipe data produced an implausible result and is flagged for review.