- 1 onion, chopped
- 15 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup calamansi juice
- 1/4 cup fish sauce (patis)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 whole chicken, cleaned and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 lemongrass stalks, or more to taste
- 3 bay leaves
- Combine onion, garlic, calamansi juice, fish sauce, salt, black pepper, and brown sugar in a bowl to make marinade.
- Place chicken in a roasting pan. Rub marinade over chicken, including inside the cavity. Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator, about 4 hours. Reserve leftover marinade in the bowl.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Trim lemongrass, discarding tough outer stalks. Pound inner stalks with a heavy object until bruised. Place lemongrass and bay leaves inside the chicken cavity.
- Stir oil into the leftover marinade in the bowl.
- Roast chicken in the preheated oven, basting with the oil mixture from time to time, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 60 to 90 minutes.
- Remove chicken from the oven and allow to rest in a warm area for 15 minutes before serving.