Serves 4
1.6kg whole chicken
2 tsp sesame oil
½ tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
6 garlic cloves, bruised
3 spring onions, halved
6cm piece ginger, thinly sliced
2 star anise
4 x 250g sweet potatoes, unpeeled
vegetable oil, to drizzle
¼ cup kecap manis
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Rub the chicken skin with sesame oil and soy sauce. Combine salt and five-spice and rub into the chicken.
Stuff the cavity with garlic, spring onions, ginger and star anise. Place chicken in an oven tray with sweet potatoes. Drizzle sweet potatoes with oil and prick the skins with a fork.
Roast for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 180°C and cook for a further 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes are tender.
Cut open the sweet potatoes. Drizzle the kecap manis over the sweet potatoes and the five-spice roast chicken and serve.