China

Beggar's Chicken

Name: Beggar's Chicken
Total time: 180 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 1.5 kg Whole chicken; 2 pieces Lotus leaves; some of each Shaoxing wine & soy sauce; some of each Shiitake & pickled vegetables; some of each Ginger & spring onion; for encasing Flour-salt dough

Whole chicken baked in clay from Hangzhou

Jiao hua ji, beggar's chicken, is a specialty of Hangzhou; legend has it a beggar cooked a stolen chicken encased in clay over a fire.

The marinated chicken is wrapped in lotus leaves and clay or dough and slow-baked, turning tender in its own juices.

Servings4

Time180 min

LevelAdvanced

Ingredients

Whole chicken1.5 kg
Lotus leaves2 pieces
Shaoxing wine & soy saucesome of each
Shiitake & pickled vegetablessome of each
Ginger & spring onionsome of each
Flour-salt doughfor encasing

★ = available authentic in the Asia Boutique

Preparation

Marinate the chicken with wine, soy sauce and aromatics.
Stuff with shiitake and vegetables.
Wrap in lotus leaves.
Fully encase in flour-salt dough.
Slow-bake several hours, crack open and serve.

Make it original

Lotus leaves and Shaoxing wine are in the Asia Boutique.

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