Beggar's chicken is a Chinese delicacy and the city of Hangzhou's most famous dish, consisting of only one ingredient - a whole chicken. The secret is in the preparation method: the stuffed chicken is tightly wrapped in lotus leaves, packed in clay, and baked in a special oven or over an open fire, resulting in tender, moist, and aromatic meat, along with being one of the visually most interesting dishes in existence.
Once the dish has been served, the hard outer shell is often cracked open with a hammer. Legend has it that a starving beggar was in possession of a chicken but had no means to prepare it, so in a stroke of genius, he covered it with mud and baked it over an open fire.
MOST ICONIC Jiao hua ji
MAIN INGREDIENTS
A hearty national specialty typically consumed during cooler seasons, this Chinese dish unites the sweet flavor of chestnuts with the savory and tender chicken meat. Chopped chicken is soaked in a marinade of Shaoxing wine, oyster and soy sauces, star anise, ginger, sugar, cinnamon, and seasonings, and it is then stir-fried along with mushrooms and spring onions in a saucepan with some oil.
Boiled chestnuts are tossed in, and the stock is poured over the chicken. Everything’s cooked until nice and tender, then served hot, ideally accompanied by steamed rice or noodles.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Often dubbed a Shanghainese specialty, drunken chicken is, in fact, an authentic dish originating from the Zhejiang province. The main ingredients of this chicken dish are a fresh, whole chicken and Shaoxing wine, a renowned rice wine produced in Zhejiang province.
Originally, the recipe calls for a whole chicken to be cooked, chilled in ice water, and then soaked in a Shaoxing wine-based marinade, overnight, or for 2-3 days. The chilled chicken is then cut into large chunks and traditionally served cold, covered with the wine-based marinade.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.