Asian Style Butterflied Roast Chicken - S$20 Budget Meal (Blog Event)

I will prepare at least 3-4 elaborate dinners each week and the rest of the week will be something simple like sandwiches, salad or leftovers. I don’t normally have a menu plan out for the week. During groceries shopping I will buy what is in season or what items are on sale. I will cook the weekly meal based on what I bought or what I still have in the fridge.

Here is one of the many meals I prepared for our dinner and sharing this with S$20 Budget Meal Blog Event hosted by Elena of Cuisine Paradise. The theme of this event is to prepare any "2 Dishes plus 1 Soup" or "1 Pot Dish" using a Maximum budget of S$20.00 or in my case US$15.00. I spent a total of $ 12.21 for this meal that will serve 4 people.

We will have roast chicken once every two weeks. I will usually marinate it with lots of fresh herbs and seasonings but for this chicken I marinate it with some Asian ingredients. We will usually eat this with roasted vegetables accompanied with some bread or rice.

Instead of roasting it whole I butterflied it (splitting and flattening) as this way the chicken cook faster and the skin will be crispier.

Ingredients:

1 chicken – about 3 pound

Marinate:

1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp Oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sesame oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash and clean the chicken. Remove any excess fat. Then cut off the excess skin dangling at the cavity. With the chicken breast side down, tail towards you, begin at one side of the tail and cut through skin, meat and bones to the neck end. Repeat on the other side of the tail. Turn chicken over, lay out flat, and press down on breast to flatten it. Dry the chicken thoroughly inside and out with a paper towel.
2. Combined all the marinate ingredients and rub it all over the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for at least an hour.
3. Heat up the oven to 400 degree F. Place all the vegetables on the roasting pan. Drizzle with some olive oil; season it with some salt and pepper. Place the marinate chicken on top of the vegetables, skin side up. Drizzle some olive oil all over the chicken and roast the chicken for at least an hour. If the chicken gets too dark before it is cook, just cover it lightly with a piece of aluminum foil.
4. Remove the chicken from the oven; let it rest for 15 minutes. Turn and toss the vegetables and return it back to the oven and continue to bake for another 10 minutes.
5. Cut the chicken and serve it with the roasted vegetables.

Cost for the above dish: Chicken $4.87, Ginger $ 0.45
Total cost: $ 5.32

Roasted Vegetables

Cost for the above dish: 1/2 pound carrots $0.50, 1/2 pound onions $0.50, 1/2 pound red potatoes $0.70, 1/2 pound brussels sprouts $1.20
Total cost: $2.90

Lotus Root with Black Bean Soup

Cost for the above soup: 1/2 pound pork ribs $1.15, 1/4 pound lotus root $0.80, 1 cup black bean - $0.50
Total cost: $2.45

Cucumber Salad

Cost for the above Salad: 1 cucumber $0.99, 1 carrot $0.35, 1 chili $0.20
Total cost: $ 1.54

Note: I buy most of my fresh vegetables and fruits from the produce place near my house so they were pretty cheap compare to the supermarket.