04 September 2026
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Whole Young Chicken with Cucumbers
The Kitchen

Whole Young Chicken with Cucumbers

This recipe calls for a young chicken aka poussin, which is the butcher’s term for a young chicken, less than 28 days old at slaughter and usually weighing up to 500 grams.

By Test Kitchen · Japan · 3 min ·

The young chicken meat has a delicate flavor and is tender and succulent in texture. Enjoy this delicious while young chicken recipe!

Instructions

  • Peel the cucumber and cut lengthways in half. Take out all seeds with a spoon. Slice into 1cm (0.4 inch) thick slices to make nice half-moon shapes.
  • Mix the dark soy sauce, Japanese rice vinegar, mirin, lemon juice, orange juice, kimchi sauce, sugar and sesame oil together and add your cucumber slices to the mix.
  • Leave the cucumber to marinate for at least 6 hours.
  • Mix all other ingredients together, except the young chicken, to form a paste.
  • Smother the paste all over the young chicken so that it is nicely covered and place in a bowl or tray in the refrigerator.
  • Leave it to marinate for at least 24 hours for maximum flavour.
  • To cook, place under the grill in your oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius (355 Fahrenheit).
  • Colour both sides until beautifully golden, approx. 5 minutes on either side.
  • When finished, cut to make sure cooked well, if there are any signs of pink you will need to cook it for a few extra minutes.
  • While the chicken is hot, cut into 6 pieces and arrange on a plate.
  • Take some of the fresh cucumber pickles and arrange next to the chicken. You can also add a slice of lime as shown in the picture, a squeeze of the lime on the chicken will lift it into bliss.

Notes:

  • *Ask your butcher to spatchcock the young chicken for you as this will save you the troubles of having to remove the bones yourself.
  • You can find all of these ingredients at your local Japanese outlet.
  • *For extra flavour, try making this on your charcoal BBQ, takes a little more care not to burn it but the results will be surely fantastic.
Key facts
  • Who: Whole Young Chicken

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