Begger's Chicken - Hak Yi Kai - 叫化雞

A starving, homeless beggar in rural China stole a chicken from a yard and was about to cook it when the emperor’s guards passed by. In his state of panic, he tried to hide the chicken by covering it with mud and threw it into the fire. Hours later when the coast is clear, he ended up with a chicken that was said to be the most tender and flavorsome he’s ever eaten.

Here are ingredients curated for this recipe:

JAPANESE SCALLOP 日本乾貝
DANGSHEN 丙級黨蔘
SOLOMON SEAL 頂級玉竹
SLICED ANGELICA 當歸片
LOVAGE RHIZOME 川弓片
JUJUBE 紅棗
GOJIBERRY 枸杞

Other kitchen ingredients:

1 free range Whole Chicken, about 1.5kg

375ml (1 ½ cups) Water
2 tablespoon Corn Flour + 2 tablespoons water, for thickening
1 tablespoon Rock Sugar
1 tablespoon Light Soya Sauce
1 teaspoon Dark Soya Sauce
2 tablespoon Chinese Rice Wine
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon Pepper
Salt to taste

The Making:

1. Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Marinate chicken with salt and pepper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven at 180°C.
4. Bring water and the 6 types of Chinese herbs to a boil in a small pot. Simmer for 5 minutes over low heat. Mix in the rest of seasoning ingredients, and remove from heat to cool down.
5. Combine salt and half of the water in a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve salt then pour flour over. Mix and add enough water to form a dough. Rest dough for 30 minutes covered with a tea towel.
6. Place 2 sheets of greaseproof paper or aluminum foil (55cm x 40cm) together, and fold the 40cm sides about 1cm thick 5 times to secure it into a big piece, and place over a deep bowl large enough to sit the chicken.
   (Alternatively, you may opt for lotus leaf)
7. Place the Chinese herbs into the cavity of the chicken and place chicken in the bowl. Pour cooled herbal stock over the chicken.
8. Wrap up the greaseproof paper over the chicken to make into a parcel.
9. Roll the dough out into a circle about of ½ cm thickness and wrap it over the chicken parcel.
10. Place the whole parcel onto a tray and bake in the oven at 180°C for 2 ½ hours.
11. Break the crust with kitchen scissors and discard dough. Be careful of the hot steam. Quickly get place chicken into a large bowl as the precious gravy would spill out.
12. Serve warm with steamed white rice.

(Image shown is an illustration of 4-pax amount for visual purposes. Actual packet of chicken serving may appear lesser.)