char siu roast chicken with five spiced vegetables, brown rice and broccoli

Roast dinners have slowly started to creep into my mid-week simple supper routine and for good reason.

Whilst they do take about an hour to cook, that hour requires no attention from me and whilst dinner is nestled in the hot oven roasting away to golden gorgeousness I can get onto other things like bathing the kids or finishing up work emails for the day.

The roast dinner is also infinitely adaptable – with just a few new herbs, spices or marinades the humble roast dinner can jump, hop and skip all over the world, delighted in all regional flavours and tonight’s chicken roast took on a little chinese flare.  The chook was smothered in the oh so delish char siu sauce and the sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot and onion that surrounded the gloriously shiny chicken were coated in a light dusting of chinese five spice powder.  The oriental aromas that wafted from the oven as the chicken and vegetables baked away were divine.

To go alongside our simple roast, I quickly cooked a head of broccoli florets and tossed them with a drizzle of sesame oil and a scattering of sesame seeds.  To speed things up even further, I opted for using precooked/prepackaged brown rice from the supermarket.  This rice has become quite the staple in my cupboard of late as it takes a mere minute or two to be reheated and then can be stirred through a pile of fresh salad ingredients or spiked with a little sesame oil to be used as a bed for a broccolini and chicken stir fry.  Simple and scrumptious.

To create your own simple family supper of char siu roast chicken with five spice vegetables, brown rice and broccoli simply…

Begin by preheating the oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 F) and line an oven tray with baking paper.

Place the chicken in the middle of the prepared tray and rub the char siu sauce over the entire body of the chicken.

Place the chopped vegetables (we used a gorgeous mix of diced pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot batons as well as an onion cut into wedges) onto the tray surrounding the chicken.  Sprinkle the chinese five spice powder over the vegetables, drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to coat.

Place into the oven and cook for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (and the juices run clear – a good spot to check is by placing a knife into hip joint of the chook).

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil, add broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Drain and return to the pot.  Drizzle the broccoli with a little sesame oil and sprinkle with a small handful of sesame seeds.  Toss to combine.  Place into a serving bowl.

Next, prepare the brown rice according to packet instructions.  We used the precooked/packaged brown rice that only requires a minute or two in the microwave.  I used my ‘bought’ time to bath the kids instead!

To serve, we simply placed the cooked chicken and vegetables straight onto a wooden board in the middle of the dining room table along with the beautiful brown rice and sesame scented broccoli.  The kids had so much fun helping me tear the chicken apart and were delighted to pick their own vegetables.  Of course brown rice ended up absolutely everywhere but that’s the fun part!  Enjoy x

char siu roast chicken with five spiced vegetables, brown rice and broccoli

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• Author: my lovely little lunch box
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
• Yield: serves 4-6 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 standard free range (organic if possible) chicken
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) char siu sauce
• 300 grams japanese pumpkin, diced
• 2 small sweet potato, cut into wedges
• 2 carrots, cut into batons
• 1 onion, cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon chinese five spice powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• to serve: cooked brown rice and spring onions, cut into thin rounds

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 F) and line an oven tray with baking paper.  Place chicken onto prepared tray and rub the char siu sauce over the entire body of the chicken.  Place the pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot and onion onto the tray surrounding the chicken.  Sprinkle the chinese five spice powder over the vegetables, drizzle with a little olive oil and toss to coat.  Pop into oven and cook for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (and the juices run clear – a good spot to check is by placing a knife into hip joint of the chook).  Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil, add broccoli and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Drain and return to the pot.  Add the sesame oil and sesame seeds and toss to combine.  Place into a serving bowl.
3. Top the chicken and rice with a small handful of spring onions.  Place the perfectly roasted chicken and vegetables straight onto a wooden board in the middle of the dining room table along with the beautiful brown rice and sesame scented broccoli. Enjoy x

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins
• Category: family dinner

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