Photograph of the finished Beggar's chicken

China · Gà bọc bột nướng lá sen Khất thực kê

Beggar's chicken

3 hr Hands-on time + 4 hr waiting
HardDifficulty
5 stepsSteps
Serves 4 Amounts follow along 4

What to get ready

  • Photograph of Whole free-range chicken Whole free-range chicken 3.5 lb
  • Photograph of Lotus leaf Lotus leaf 12 leaves
  • Photograph of Flour Flour 1.8 lb
  • Photograph of Dried Shiitake Mushrooms Dried Shiitake Mushrooms 2.8 oz
  • Photograph of Pork belly Pork belly 7.1 oz
  • Photograph of Soy sauce Soy sauce ⅓ cup
  • Photograph of Shaoxing Wine Shaoxing Wine ⅓ cup
  • Photograph of Ginger Ginger 1.4 oz
  • Photograph of Five-spice powder Five-spice powder 0.3 oz
  • Photograph of Spring onion Spring onion 3.5 oz

Method

  1. 1 Marinate the chicken with soy sauce, rice wine, five-spice powder, and ginger for 4 hours.
  2. 2 Sauté shiitake mushrooms with pork belly, then stuff the mixture into the chicken cavity and sew it shut.
  3. 3 Wrap the chicken in three layers of blanched lotus leaves; the lotus leaves provide a fragrant aroma throughout the roasting process.
  4. 4 Knead the flour with water to form a 1.5 cm thick dough wrapper, then wrap it completely around the leaf package.
  5. 5 Bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours, then break the crust right at the table to release the aroma.

With an appliance

  • Charcoal grill 2 hr 40 min

    Replace step 5: Place the breaded chicken package on the grill about 20 cm from the glowing charcoal, cover, and bake indirectly for 1 hour and 35 minutes, rotating the package every 25 minutes. The lotus leaf aroma adds a smoky charcoal flavor and is faster than using an oven, but you must push the charcoal to the sides to prevent the crust from burning.

Start cooking