Zhuang Liang Chicken
Zhuangliang Chicken is a famous Yongping Hui-style dish, featuring lean meat as bright red as cherries, snow-white fat, and a tender, richly aromatic texture.
Ingredients
Wuding Chicken
1 (2000 g)
sweet soy sauce
200 g
refined salt
50 g
sesame oil
20 g
boiled cardamom
10
chili oil
100 g
Instructions
1
Slaughter and Prep
Slaughtering a live chicken requires two operators. First, clean the chicken feet, vent, and beak. One person holds the chicken feet firmly and pinches both wings, using fingers to tighten the neck so the esophagus and trachea bulge; the other person aims at the correct spot, makes a downward push, and cuts back along the cut path, with chicken feet facing up and head facing down, letting all blood drain out to prevent blood from flowing back and keep the chicken meat white.
2
Feather Removal and Cleaning
Clean the slaughter opening, pluck belly feathers, open the cavity to remove internal organs, rinse the inner cavity with warm water, sew up the opening, scald to remove feathers, wipe the chicken body clean with a cloth, submerge it in water, remove the food sac, cut off the vent area, clean out the ear base, remove nasal debris, remove the beak shell, clear the chicken tongue and the white membrane on the top of the palate, and rinse with water 2 to 3 times.
3
Boil and Season
Rub refined salt inside the chicken cavity to marinate slightly, place it in a soup pot to boil in plain water. When the soup comes to a boil, skim off the foam, add cardamom, cook until the chicken meat shrinks and the soup turns white, indicating it is fully cooked. Remove it and let it cool. Apply sesame oil, chop into neat small pieces by section, arrange leg and breast meat on top, head and neck at the bottom, plate neatly. When serving, pour sweet soy sauce and chili oil into small dishes and serve alongside the chicken.
