- 2 chicken Maryland fillets skin on (note 1)
- A few pinches salt
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 30g / 1.1oz ginger sliced into 4-5 pieces
- Cooking twine
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking sake
- 1½ tbsp sugar
- 200ml / 6.8fl oz water
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Place a Maryland fillet on a cutting board, skin side down. Butterfly the thick part of the flesh so that the thickness of the meat is even (note 2).
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Place the fillet horizontally so that the thigh portion is on the left (or right) of the drumstick portion. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the meat.
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Starting from the edge closer to you, roll the fillet tightly.
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Wrap one end of the meat once with kitchen twine and tie it. Then continue wrapping it at about 1.5cm / ⅝" intervals (note 3). At the end, tuck the end of the twine under the wrapped strands.
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Repeat for the other fillet.
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Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
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Place the chicken rolls in the pan, with the end of the twine facing down. Cook the chicken for a couple of minutes, until the surface touching the pan is browned.
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Turn the chicken rolls occasionally and cook until they are nicely browned all over.
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Wipe off the excess oil from the pan, then add all the Simmering Sauce ingredients, garlic, and ginger to the pan. Bring it to a boil.
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Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 7 minutes, with a lid on.
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Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium high and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes (note 4). Occasionally rotate the chicken pieces. Remove the scum if necessary.
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When the sauce is reduced and just covers the bottom of the frying pan (2-3 tablespoons), remove the pan from the heat.
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Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and remove the twine (note 5).
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Slice the chicken rolls into 1.5cm wide pieces and transfer them to a plate.
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Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve.
1. I bought 2 x bone-in chicken Maryland, which weighed 700g / 1.5lb in total. After removing the bones, the total fillet weighed 540g / 1.2lb.
2. You might find that the flesh where the two bones were joined is very thin, exposing the skin. You can fill the thin part with a piece of meat trimmed from the thicker part of the fillet.
3. Wrap the chicken diagonally so that the twine naturally moves towards the other end.
4. The time required to reduce the sauce may vary depending on the strength of the heat and the surface area of your frying pan.
5. If you are not serving immediately, transfer the chicken, with the twine intact, to an airtight container along with the sauce. It will keep for 5 days in the fridge or 4 weeks in the freezer.
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 2 servings.
serving: 428g calories: 405kcal fat: 12g (18%) saturated fat: 206g (13%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 4.4g monounsaturated fat: 3.3g cholesterol: 176mg (59%) sodium: 1243mg (52%) carbohydrates: 11g (4%) dietary fibre: 1g (2%) sugar: 6g protein: 57g vitamin D: 0.7mcg (0%) calcium: 41mg (4%) iron: 3.2mg (18%) potassium: 784 mg (17%)