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Beggar's chicken
叫化鸡 jiàohuā jī — Hangzhou stuffed chicken baked in lotus leaves and a salt-flour crust
Legend has a hungry beggar near Hangzhou wrapping a stolen chicken in mud and burying it in the embers; restaurants in Hangzhou and Changshu still crack open the crust at the table for a bit of theatre. This home version swaps the mud for a salt-and-flour dough, so it bakes in an ordinary oven. Inside two lotus leaves, the bird steams in its own juices with pork, mushrooms and bamboo shoots, so the meat is fall-apart tender and smells of the leaves. Make it for a special dinner and serve with rice and greens. Chef's tip: the crust is only an oven, not something to eat; seal every crack with a scrap of dough so the steam stays in.
- Total time
- 240 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the chicken
For the stuffing
For the wrapping
For the salt crust
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Pat 3 ⅓ lb whole chicken dry. Mix 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder and 1 tbsp fresh ginger and rub it all over and inside the bird. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, never on the counter. Keep its board and knife apart from everything else.
Step 2: Heat 1 tbsp neutral oil in a wok over a high heat. Stir-fry 5 ½ oz lean pork for 2 minutes, then add 6 dried shiitake mushrooms, 3 ½ oz bamboo shoots, 3 spring onions and 1 tbsp light soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Spread on a plate and let it cool completely before stuffing.
4 minStep 3: Fill the cavity with the cooled stuffing, then tie the legs together with kitchen string.
Step 4: Mix 1 ⅔ lb plain flour and 10 ½ oz coarse salt, then add 2 cups water and knead into a firm, smooth dough. Rest it for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 5: Heat the oven to 425°F (400°F fan). Wipe 2 dried lotus leaves dry, overlap them on the work surface, set the chicken in the middle breast up and wrap it up tightly. Wrap the parcel in a layer of foil.
Step 6: Roll the dough into a 1 cm thick sheet big enough to cover the parcel. Wrap it around and pinch the seams shut, patching any cracks. A common mistake is rolling the crust too thin: it splits in the oven and the chicken dries out.
Step 7: Set on a lined baking tray and bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is firm.
30 minStep 8: Turn the oven down to 350°F (300°F fan) and bake for 2 hours 30 minutes more.
150 minStep 9: Crack the crust with the back of a heavy knife or a small hammer and lift it off, then open the foil and leaves. Check the thickest part of the thigh and the centre of the stuffing: both must reach 165°F (165 °F) and the juices run clear. If not, re-wrap and return to the oven for 15 minutes.
Step 10: Rest for 10 minutes, then pull the meat apart with chopsticks at the table and spoon over the juices. Discard the crust and leaves.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 36 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does beggar's chicken take?
- About 240 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 190 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of light soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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