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.

Source: rasamalaysia.com

Editor: Feng Hui