Roast 'Kampong' Chicken

Mom requested for a roasted chicken for dinner some nights ago and further more requested it to be "kampong" chicken. Kampong chicken, direct translation would be "Country Chicken" or something everyone would be more familiar, Free Range Chicken. Compared to the regular commercially bred chickens, these guys are allowed to run free in their farms, and that develops leaner and firmer meat. Hence making it a healthier option. For more info, http://www.mardi.my/

But in my honest (and own) opinion, although it's a healthier option, roast chicken should be made with regular chicken. This roast chicken was a bit too lean for my liking. I would have liked it to be a bit more meaty and hearty. Or i should have tried out an Asian version instead of the regular Western recipes. Hmm..do it the next time. However, Kampong Chickens are great for curries and other Asian style dishes like the ones my mom cooks.

Nevertheless, we finished the roast to the very last piece of meat =P

I also stuffed the chicken with a bread and mushroom mixture. That was, i must say, the tastiest part of this roast! (I should have torn the bread into even smaller pieces, it was a little lumpy though)

Stuffed and sewn, ready to hit the oven

Ingredients

1 whole Kampong chicken, cleaned and dried thoroughly

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

A few potatoes, let whole if small or cut in halves if bigger

Some baby carrots or regular carrot roughly chopped

olive oil or butter, enough to coat chicken

Stuffing:

4 slices of white bread

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, chopped finely

4 pieces of shitake mushrooms, chopped finely

1 tsp dried oregano

1 egg yolk

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil or butter

Method:

1. Tear bread into small pieces. Set aside.

2. Heat oil / butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in onions and garlic and allow to soften, for about 5 minutes.

3. Add mushrooms, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 3 minutes. Allow to cool.

4. In a bowl, combine bread and onion mixture with egg yolk.

For the chicken:

1. Coat potatoes and carrots with olive oil, and season. Add only potatoes first to your baking pan.

2. Stuff chicken with bread stuffing, sew it up and its legs together. Then season chicken well with salt and pepper (you could rub on any other dried herb if you'd like). Then rub on olive oil or butter. Place chicken on top of potatoes.

3. Roast chicken in a preheated oven of 200DegC for about 40 minutes, add in carrots to the roasting pan and bake for another 30-40 minutes

4. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before cutting chicken, serve with stuffings, roasted vegetable, brown gravy and crisp lettuce. BON APPETIT!!