Authentic Beggar's Chicken

Name: Authentic Beggar's Chicken
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 3 h 40 min
Total time: 4 h 20 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 (about 1500 g) Liyang chicken; 250 g pork caul fat; 5 g fine salt; 5 g MSG; 5 g chicken bouillon powder; 10 g sand ginger powder; 15 g dark soy sauce; 3 g star anise (crushed); 1 g cloves (crushed); 1 g cang zhu / atractylodes rhizome (crushed); 25 g shredded ginger; 25 g shredded scallion; 50 g shredded Jinhua ham; 150 g shredded fresh shiitake mushroom (braised through with ginger, scallion, and chicken oil); 25 g shredded bamboo shoot; wine jar clay (crushed to powder and kneaded with fermented rice, a little coarse salt, and water); lotus leaf; aluminum foil; oiled cooking paper

A signature Jiangsu specialty, also known as Beggar's Chicken. In its modern preparation, the chicken is wrapped in layers of lotus leaf, foil, and wine-jar clay, then buried in charcoal embers or oven-baked, yielding tender meat with a distinctive aroma.

4h 20m

Easy

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Ingredients

Liyang chicken 1 (about 1500 g)

pork caul fat 250 g

fine salt 5 g

MSG 5 g

chicken bouillon powder 5 g

sand ginger powder 10 g

dark soy sauce 15 g

star anise (crushed) 3 g

cloves (crushed) 1 g

cang zhu / atractylodes rhizome (crushed) 1 g

shredded ginger 25 g

shredded scallion 25 g

shredded Jinhua ham 50 g

shredded fresh shiitake mushroom (braised through with ginger, scallion, and chicken oil) 150 g

shredded bamboo shoot 25 g

wine jar clay (crushed to powder and kneaded with fermented rice, a little coarse salt, and water)

lotus leaf

aluminum foil

oiled cooking paper

Instructions

Preparation

There are two ways to open up the Liyang chicken and remove its innards: one from beneath the left wing, the other from beneath the vent. Whichever method is used, the leg bone joints should be loosened so the bird can be wrapped neatly.

Marination

Crush the star anise, cloves, and cang zhu, then dry-toast them in a dry wok over low heat until fragrant. Remove, let cool, and mix with the sand ginger powder, dark soy sauce, fine salt, MSG, and chicken bouillon. Rub this seasoning paste evenly over the entire Liyang chicken and marinate for about 15 minutes. Then stuff the cavity with the shredded ginger, scallion, Jinhua ham, fresh shiitake, and bamboo shoot.

Wrapping

Tuck the chicken head under the wing. Wrap the body in pork caul fat (1st layer), then a lotus leaf (2nd layer), then aluminum foil (3rd layer), then another lotus leaf (4th layer), then tie into a tight bundle with grass string (5th layer). Spread the wine jar clay (kneaded with fermented rice and coarse salt) on a damp cloth to about 3.5 cm thick and wrap the chicken bundle tightly (6th layer). Remove the damp cloth and finish with a sheet of oiled cooking paper (7th layer).

Roasting

Charcoal-ash method: When the firewood or charcoal has burned down to near-ash but is still burning fiercely, bury the chicken bundle inside it breast-side up. Roast over high heat for about 50 minutes, then turn down to a low, sustained heat for 3-4 hours. Oven method: Set the oven to 220 degrees C (about 430 degrees F), roast for roughly 40 minutes, then turn down to 160 degrees C (about 320 degrees F) and continue roasting for around 180 minutes.

Serving

Bring the bundle to the table in a brazier and crack open the clay shell on the spot. Strip away the outer layers, transfer the bird to a serving platter, snip open the foil and lotus leaf, and serve with gloves so guests can tear the chicken into pieces themselves and dip them in Sichuan peppercorn oil.