Spicy Roasted Cornish Hen with Asian Flavors

Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together the tamari, mirin, sake, sugar, garlic, ginger, and sambal oelek until the sugar dissolves. Truss the hen’s legs with If You Care Unbleached Cotton Kitchen Twine. Tuck the wings behind the back. Put the hen in a gallon zip-top bag. Add 3/4 cup of the marinade, and seal the bag, pressing as much air out of the bag as possible. Transfer to a medium bowl, and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to overnight, turning the hen in the marinade occasionally. Cover and refrigerate the remaining marinade. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350°F. Strain the remaining marinade through a medium-mesh strainer into a small saucepan, stirring to push all the liquid through and reserving the garlic-ginger mixture in the strainer. Bring the marinade to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 1-1/2 Tbs. water until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch into the marinade, and cook until it thickens, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, toss the bok choy with 1-1/2 Tbs. of the reserved ginger-garlic mixture, 1 tsp. of the peanut oil, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Put the If You Care roasting bag seam side up on a large rimmed sheet baking sheet. Add the bok choy to the center of the bag. In the same bowl, toss the yam with the remaining 1/2 tsp. peanut oil and a pinch of salt. Put the yam on top of the bok choy. Remove the hen from the marinade, shaking off the excess. Put the hen breast side up on top of the yam. Seal the open end of the bag by folding tightly as many times as possible toward the top until it snugly fits the contents. Roast the hen for 25 minutes. Carefully cut the top of the roasting bag in half along the seam, and push the bag back to expose the hen. Baste the hen with some of the cooked marinade. Brush the vegetables with the marinade remaining on the brush, return to the oven, and roast for 20 to 25 minutes more, basting once, until a digital thermometer inserted into the hen registers 165°F. Let the hen rest 5 minutes before transferring to a plate with the vegetables. Drizzle with the sesame oil, garnish with the scallion, and serve.