Beggar's Chicken
叫化鸡
Beggar's Chicken is a legendary Chinese dish wrapped in clay and slow-roasted, resulting in incredibly tender and flavorful meat that falls off the bone.
Cultural Note
Beggar Chicken is one of the most famous stories in Chinese culinary legend. According to folklore, a beggar stole a chicken and, having no pot, wrapped it in clay and roasted it in the ground. The result was so delicious that it became a banquet dish. Both Shanghai and Hangzhou claim this dish, but the Shanghai version is the most widely known.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 slices ginger
- 3 scallions
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 4-6 lotus leaves (soaked in water)
- Clay or salt dough for sealing
- Stuffing: 100 g sticky rice (soaked)
- Stuffing: 50 g Chinese sausage (diced)
- Stuffing: 30 g dried mushrooms (soaked, diced)
- Stuffing: 30 g dried shrimp
- Stuffing: 2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Wash and cut the chicken into pieces, add cooking wine and a little soy sauce and marinate for 15 minutes
- Pour an appropriate amount of cooking oil into the pot and heat it over high heat until it is 70% hot.
- Add the chicken and stir-fry quickly over high heat until it changes color.
- Add shiitake mushrooms and diced bamboo shoots and continue stir-frying until cooked through
- Add soy sauce, cooking wine and salt to taste, stir-fry over high heat and remove from the pan
- Remove from the pan and serve on a plate