I was looking forward to the holidays hoping to get some time to create new dishes, but it was quite contrary 🤣. We were up and out the door by 8am and didn’t return home until 7pm. And by that time spending hours in the kitchen was not going to happen. So I turned to my pantry and fridge and came up with this roasted five spice chicken & cabbage dish. The nice thing about this dish is as it cooks in the oven, I can go and get other things done.
What is 5 spice powder?
Five spice powder is a common ingredient in Asian cooking. It’s composed of cinnamon, fennel seed, star anise, cloves and Sichuan peppercorns or regular peppercorns. You can find 5 spice powder in any grocery store. However, if you want to make your own, it’s easy to do as well. All you need is a coffee grinder and the ingredients. Since star anise, fennel seed and peppercorns come whole, you’ll need to use the coffee grinder to grind these. Before grinding the peppercorns, place it in a pan to toast first. This helps enrich their flavors when they’re ground.
What does 5 spice powder taste like?
Whenever I smell or taste 5 spice, I immediately think of pho, star anise and black licorice. I know that the taste of black licorice is an acquired taste, so 5 spice may not be for everyone. I know my husband is not a fan of the black licorice, pho or star anise taste. Yet he loved this dish. I’m going to guess it’s because of the peppercorn bacon 🤣. If you’re wondering, there is star anise in pho 😊.
Marinating the Chicken
My rule of thumb for marinating meat is to always taste the marinade first before adding the meat to it. This way you can adjust the marinade to make sure the spices are balanced prior to cooking. After combining all the ingredients for the marinade, pour the marinade over the chicken. Gently rub the marinade into the chicken and let it marinade for 15 minutes. If time allows, cover the chicken and let it marinade overnight in the refrigerator.
Cooking the chicken & cabbage
I like to use a 15 inch cast iron pan for this. Line the cast iron pan with 2 inch thick cabbage slices and place the marinated chicken on top. Place the strips of peppercorn bacon on top of the chicken. This way the bacon will keep the chicken moist and the the cabbage will be well seasoned with the chicken marinade and the bacon.
After everything is assembled, place the cast iron pan in the oven and let it cook until the chicken is done. Fully cooked chicken will have clear juice instead of the normal red or pinkish juice.
If you don’t have cabbage on hand, you can substitute another vegetable for it. I’ve made this dish using fresh green beans before and it tastes delicious.
Serving chicken & cabbage
There are several ways to serve this dish. One is to serve it on top of cooked Jasmine rice. If you’re not a rice fan, you can serve it with a side of homemade sourdough bread (one of my favorites) or on top of a bed of lettuce for a healthier option.
5 Spice Chicken & Cabbage
Equipment
- 1 15 inch cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 2½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp 5-spice powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp hoisin sauce
- ½ tsp fish sauce
- 7 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 head of green cabbage
- 6 strips of peppercorn bacon
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and gently rub the salt into the chicken. Then rinse the salt off with warm water and pat the chicken thighs dry using paper towels. Set the cleaned chicken aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine all the marinating ingredients (soy sauce, 5-spice, garlic powder, honey, hoisin sauce, fish sauce and vegetable oil) together and mix well to combine. Give the marinade a taste and adjust the seasonings accordingly if needed.
- Place the chicken thighs in a container and pour the marinade over the chicken. Rub the marinade into the chicken thighs then cover the container and let it marinade for 15 minutes or in the fridge overnight if possible.
- Preheat the oven to 400oF.
- Remove a couple of the outer cabbage leaves, and give the cabbage a rinse to remove any dirt on the outside.
- Slice the green cabbage into 2 inches thick slices and place the cabbage into the 15 inch cast iron pan until the bottom of the pan is covered.
- Place the marinated chicken thighs on top of the cabbage. I like to fold the chicken thighs up like how it came in the package before placing it on the cabbage.
- Place the strips of peppercorn bacon strips on top of the chicken thighs and put the cast iron pan in the oven to bake at 400oF for 1.5 hours or until the chicken is cooked.
- Serve with a side of Jasmine rice.
The next time you’re looking for a one pot meal, give this 5-spice chicken & cabbage dish a try. For more recipes using 5-spice powder, check out my Chinese BBQ pork recipe. If you’ve cooked with 5-spice before, did you like it? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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