Prep: 40 mins.  Cooking: 40 mins.  Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 3 lb whole chicken
• 1 tbs honey
• 1 whole star anise
• 1 strip dried tangerine peel
• Oil, for deep-frying

Ingredients for Five Spice Salt:

• 2 tbs salt
• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp five-spice
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

Put the chicken in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.  Add honey, star anise, mandarin peel, and 1 teaspoon salt.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave chicken, covered, for a further 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, transfer chicken to a plate to cool.

Cut chicken in half lengthways, place it on paper towels, uncovered, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Fill a wok one-third of the way with oil and heat to 315 F.  Very gently lower in half of the chicken, skin side down.  Cook for 6 minutes, making sure all the skin comes in contact with oil.  Drain on paper towels, then repeat with second chicken half.

To make salt, put salt and peppercorns in a small frying pan and dry-fry until aromatic.  Crush the mixture and then mix with five spice and white pepper.

Use a cleaver to chop chicken halves into smaller pieces, then sprinkle over the five-spice salt and serve immediately.

How visitors found this Filipino Recipe:

• chicken skin recipe pinoy style
• crispy skin chicken recipe