SERVES 6 to 8
TIME 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours, plus 4 hours to brine

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups soy sauce, divided
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh ginger, divided
10 garlic cloves, crushed and divided
1 chicken (6 to 8 lbs.)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup mirin or sake
1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tbsp. Asian (toasted) sesame oil
2 lbs. shiitake mushrooms, rinsed
1 lb. green onions, rinsed

Directions

1. In a pot, mix 1 cup soy sauce, brown sugar, 1/4 cup ginger, 6 garlic cloves, and 4 qts. water.

2. Rinse chicken well; pierce skin all over with a fork. Lay breast down in brine; chill at least 4 hours, turning several times.

3. Preheat oven to 425°. Rinse chicken; pat dry. Set breast up on a V-shaped rack in a roasting pan. Ease your fingers under skin to loosen it over breast. Push chopped cilantro under skin and spread over breast. Put cilantro sprigs in body cavity; add 2 tbsp. ginger and remaining garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Roast chicken 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix remaining soy sauce, ginger, and chopped cilantro with broth, vinegar, mirin, hoisin, and sesame oil. Trim stems from mushrooms and bottoms from onions. Chop green onions. Mix mushrooms, white parts of onions, and all but 1/2 cup green parts with soy mixture. Lift out with a slotted spoon and distribute around chicken in pan; reserve soy mixture.

6. Continue to roast chicken, stirring vegetables after about 20 minutes, until a thermometer inserted through thickest part of breast to bone reaches 170°, 3/4 to 1 1/4 hours longer.

7. Tilt chicken to drain juices into pan. Set on a platter. Arrange vegetables around chicken. Skim fat from pan. Add reserved soy mixture and boil, scraping browned bits free, until reduced to 3/4 cup, 10 to 12 minutes. Strain into a small bowl. Sprinkle remaining green onions over mushroom mixture. Serve chicken with pan juices.

PER SERVING 508 cal., 44% (225 cal.) from fat; 47 g protein; 25 g fat (6.8 g sat.); 20 g carbo (2.7 g fiber); 703 mg sodium; 134 mg chol.

Serve with Brandborg “Bench Lands” Pinot Noir 2006 (Umpqua Valley)