Eight Treasure Chicken
Tender, crispy chicken with rich eight-treasure flavor. This Zhejiang dish is prized for its qi-boosting, deficiency-replenishing, spleen-strengthening, and stomach-warming qualities.
Ingredients
Young hen (slaughtered, cleaned, feet removed, whole chicken deboned)
1 (about 1500g)
Glutinous rice
50g
Cooked ham (cut into nail-shaped slices)
25g
Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms (stems removed, cleaned, diced)
25g
Dried scallops (steamed with 100g water for 30 minutes until tender)
25g
Lotus seeds (with hearts)
30g
Dried shrimp (soaked in boiling water until soft)
15g
Tender bamboo shoots (cut into nail-shaped slices)
25g
Fine salt
6g
MSG
3g
Shaoxing wine
15g
Scallion knot
10g
Ginger slices
15g
Wet starch (for thickening)
15g
Instructions
1
Deboning the whole chicken
Slaughter and clean the chicken, chop off the feet, and carefully remove all the bones from the whole bird while keeping the skin intact.
2
Preparing the fillings
Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and dice them. Place the dried scallops in a bowl, add 100g water, and steam over high heat for 30 minutes until tender. Soak the dried shrimp in boiling water until soft and set aside.
3
Mixing and stuffing
Cut the cooked ham, cooked chicken gizzards, and tender bamboo shoots into nail-shaped slices. Combine them with the glutinous rice, bamboo shoots, dried scallops, dried shrimp, lotus seeds, MSG, and fine salt. Mix well, then stuff the mixture into the chicken cavity.
4
Steaming
Tie a knot at the chicken's neck so the skin pulls taut. Rinse briefly with cold water, then place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the scallion knot, ginger slices, Shaoxing wine, and 250g water. Steam over high heat for about 2 hours.
5
Plating and thickening
Remove the chicken and place it breast-side up on a long serving platter. Thicken the cooking juices with wet starch and drizzle the glossy sauce over the chicken before serving.
