Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pat dry the whole chicken with a paper towel then season well with the salt and pepper. Heat up the oil in a large, oven safe, dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the whole chicken breast side down first and sear for 8 minutes (set a timer). Flip then sear the other side of 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the coconut milk, thyme, and shallot. Slice a few thin slices of lemon to add to the roasting chicken towards then end of roasting then, use a vegetable peeler to peel off a few long pieces of lemon rind and add that to the coconut milk along with the rest of the lemon half. You can heat this mixture up on the stove top then pour it to over the chicken or if you're in a hurry just add it all in at room temp. If you're adding it hot, make sure to remove the dutch oven from the heat so that the milk does bubble over when you add it.

Roast the chicken with the coconut milk mixture at 400 for 45 minutes, partially covered. Uncover and add the lemon slices to the top of the chicken and continue to roast for 15 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.