Zhejiang Beggar's Chicken
关于叫花鸡
Zhejiang cuisine has a long history, and beggar's chicken is one of its representative dishes. It has a light and delicious taste and is finely made. It is good at stir-frying, steaming, simmering and stewing, fully embodying the cooking wisdom of Zhejiang cuisine.
Ingredients
- Whole chicken 1 (about 1.2kg)
- Lotus leaves 2 (soaked)
- Pork fatback 100g (minced)
- Shiitake mushrooms 50g (soaked, diced)
- Scallions 5
- Ginger 20g
- Shaoxing wine 2 tbsp
- Light soy sauce 2 tbsp
- Sugar 1 tbsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Five-spice powder 1/2 tsp
- Clay for wrapping
Instructions
- 1. Clean chicken. Remove bones if desired. Marinate with soy sauce, wine and spices.
- 2. Stir-fry pork fatback with mushrooms, scallions and ginger.
- 3. Stuff the chicken with the filling mixture.
- 4. Wrap chicken tightly in lotus leaves.
- 5. Seal completely with clay (traditional) or foil (modern).
- 6. Bake in oven at 200C for 2 hours.
- 7. Break open clay or foil at the table.
- 8. Unwrap lotus leaves. The aroma is released. Serve with soy sauce dip.
文化小知识
Beggar's Chicken embodies the culinary essence of Zhejiang cuisine. Zhejiang cuisine is one of the eight major cuisines in China, represented by Hangzhou cuisine and Ningbo cuisine. Zhejiang cuisine pays attention to freshness and fineness, and freshness is the most precious thing. Dongpo braised pork belly, West Lake vinegar fish, and Longjing shrimp are all classic representatives of Zhejiang cuisine. In Zhejiang, people are very particular about the selection of ingredients and the control of heat. Beggar's Chicken is the epitome of this ingenuity.