In China, there are many dishes where the name originated from a folklore, legend, or story. Beggar’s Chicken (叫化鸡) is another dish with an interesting history.
Legend has it that a homeless, starving beggar had a chicken but didn’t have a stove to prepare it. Desperate for food, he came up with an idea. He killed the chicken and covered it with mud and baked it with fire…
A Qing-dynasty Emperor (乾隆皇帝) passed by. Attracted by the aroma of the baked chicken, he stopped and dined with the beggar. The Emperor loved the “Beggar’s Chicken” so much that it was added to the list of dishes served at the Imperial court. Hence, Beggar’s Chicken is also called “富贵鸡” (literally “rich and noble chicken”) in Beijing.
Beggar’s chicken calls for a stuffed and marinated chicken, sealed tight with layers of lotus leaf, parchment paper/wax paper, and mud. This unique cooking technique produces the most tender, juicy, moist, and aromatic chicken that is bursting with intense flavors. The original taste of the chicken is perfectly retained and trapped inside the chicken. The bones just fall off the chicken after hours of baking, and the lotus leaf lends the signature mouthwatering “fragrance” to the chicken. Unattractive–and even bizarre!–in its appearance, beggar’s chicken is a real Chinese delicacy that one should not miss out.
How to make?
- Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Slow cooking time: 2 hours
- 1 (4 lbs.) whole chicken
- enough pork caul fat to wrap chicken
- 3 large dried lotus leaves
- 8 lbs. of non-toxic pottery clay
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Marinade
- 4 tablespoons light soy sauce (生抽)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing cooking wine (紹興料酒)
- 4 star anise
- 1 tablespoon whole clove
Stuffing
- 8 ozs. pork tenderloin
- 8 ozs. small shrimp
- 4 ozs. Smithfield ham
- 4 ozs. bamboo shoots
- 8 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (生抽)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine (紹興料酒)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 4 star anise
- Put all the ingredients of the marinade in a small saucepan and heat over low heat for about five minutes until the spices are infused into the liquid. Let cool before pouring over the chicken in large bowl. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least five hours or over night.
- Cut the pork into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside. Clean and devein the shrimp and set aside. Reconstitute the dried shiitake mushroom in hot water. Dice the ham, bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms into about 1/4 inch cubes and set all aside.
- In a wok add the vegetable oil and heat until just beginning to smoke. Add the chopped ginger and scallion into the wok and stir-fry for about a minute. Add the pork, shrimp, bamboo shoots, and mushroom and stir-fry for about three minutes or until the meat is just about three quarter done. Add the rest of the Stuffing ingredients and stir-fry for another three minutes or until the meat is completely done. Place the stuffing in a bowl and let cool.
- Reconstitute the lotus leaves in hot water and set aside. When the stuffing is cool enough to handle remove the chicken from the marinade and brush off the spices. Stuff the chicken and tightly cover the entire chicken in the caul fat. Place the chicken on a piece of lotus leaf breast side up. Fold the leaf over the sides and wings of the chicken onto the breast. Fold the other sides of the leaf to cover the head and tail of the chicken. Flip the wrapped chicken over and place it on another lotus leaf and repeat the folding. Flip the chicken again and wrap a third leaf around it. The chicken should now be completely covered. Tie the wrapped chicken tightly with butcher’s twine. Cover the entire package with a layer of clay about 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake in pre-heated 400 Degree F oven or in covered grill for about two hours. When ready to serve crack the clay and unwrap the lotus leaves. Remove the stuffing and place in a serving dish. Pour sesame oil over the stuffing. Serve the chicken on a platter with the lotus leaves as a base.
