A supermarket hot roast chicken – and specifically, the bag it comes in – is at the centre of an easy cooking trick.
Sydney foodie Adrian Widjonarko declared it ‘the best supermarket rotisserie chicken dish hack’, showcasing the tip while opening a hot roast chook purchased from Woolworths.
The food and culture blogger demonstrated in a video how opening the bag and fully removing the cooked chicken reveals some often overlooked remnants in the bag.
‘Notice there is so much juice at the bottom usually,’ Adrian explained in a post shared to his @PlacesinSydney Instagram account.
Rather than just throwing it away, Adrian explained that these leftover chicken juices are actually brilliant as a stock sauce base for a tasty chicken rice dish.
Using the juice-filled bag in lieu of a mixing bowl, Adrian recommended to ‘simply add [cooked] rice and lots of your favourite green herbs – for me, chopped spring onions.’
Then, you simply shred the cooked chicken before adding it back into the bag and mixing it all together until well combined. The end result? A hearty, vibrant and very easy chicken rice dish that’s ready in minutes.
Adrian adds: ‘You can add salt and pepper depending on your taste, or soy sauce. But for me, this is already perfection.’
Sydney foodie Adrian Widjy demonstrated how to make this simple and tasty chicken rice dish using the juices at the bottom of a supermarket hot chook bag
The meal hack cleverly uses the roast chicken bag in lieu of a mixing bowl
Simply toss cooked rice, herbs and shredded chicken straight into the juice-filled bag and mix well for an instant meal
Over 1.5 million people have viewed Adrian’s video, which he captioned: ‘Try this hack next time you buy one of those roast chickens… thank me later.’
Among the hundreds of replies were comments from people who regularly buy supermarket roast chickens – but never thought to use the bonus juices.
‘Why have I never thought of doing this? Such a good hack!’ read one much-liked reply.
‘This is a crazy clever idea,’ agreed another.
‘OMG I am so mad I didn’t think of this,’ one shared.
‘Wow would never have thought about this,’ another suggested.
Even Aussie chef and cookbook author Vincent Yeow Lim was impressed, saying: ‘This actually looks fire.’
Many described the method as ‘genius’, ‘brilliant’ and ‘smart’.
The benefit of cutting out an unnecessary mixing bowl by making the meal in the chicken bag was also mentioned in the comments.
‘No need to wash dishes too,’ chimed in one reply.
The video shared to the foodie’s @PlacesinSydney account explained that although many Aussies regularly purchase supermarket hot roast chickens, most would toss away the juices sitting at the bottom of the bag
Adrian’s video inspired other shoppers to consider additional ingredients they might want to add to this chicken rice dish, such as ginger, sesame oil and chili
But what stunned many was how the chicken juices at the bottom could actually be deliciously repurposed as an instant stock base.
‘Great for people who don’t cook,’ exclaimed one person.
‘Absolutely never throw those juices out,’ advised another. ‘If making a chicken salad or sandwich mix, add these juices.’
Several responses to Adrian’s video were from people planning to try the easy chicken dish, with some making lists of extra ingredients to level it up.
‘Add soya, some sesame oil, some ginger, chopped spring onion and a pinch of sugar,’ suggested one reply.
‘I’ll give it a pan fry for crispiness and add chili oil for some razzle dazzle taste,’ said another.
Adrian’s chicken rice made in its own bag isn’t the only discovery shoppers have made recently about the humble Woolies hot chook.
Last month, many customers were stunned to learn the explanation behind the rooster crowing alarm that shoppers regularly hear in the Woolworths deli section.
Last month, Woolworths own social media account ‘set the record straight’ about the rooster crowing sound shoppers had reported hearing in the deli section. They explained it was the timer indicating that the roast chickens were cooked and ready
The supermarket giant ‘set the record straight’ in November 2025, explaining the source of the mysterious noises.
‘No, that sound didn’t come from a live chicken. It came from our oven,’ a Woolworths employee said in a video.
‘Our ovens make a few noises to let the team know when to check on the chickens.’
The cock-a-doodle-doo is actually a signal that the roast chooks are cooked and ready to be bagged and sold.
‘As the timer approaches zero, it plays the sound we all know and love,’ the video voiceover explained. ‘And then it’s over to our team members to check if the chickens are ready to pop in the bag.’
‘So next time you’re in your local Woolworths and you hear the chicken sound, rest assured, there are no chickens in the back.’
A Woolworths spokesman previously confirmed to Daily Mail that the rooster crowing is the sound of the alarm from the rotisserie oven that lets team members know cooking is complete.
They also explained the sound of the alarm is set by the manufacturer.
