Beggar's Chicken (叫化鸡) — Lotus-Wrapped Clay-Baked Jiangnan Chicken

• 1 wholewhole chicken (about 1.6 kg, giblets removed)
• 3 tbsplight soy sauce
• 1 tbspdark soy sauce
• 60 mlShaoxing wine
• 2 tspsesame oil
• 2 inchfresh ginger (thinly sliced)
• 4scallions (cut into 7 cm lengths)
• 0.5 tspwhite pepper
• 2 tspgranulated sugar
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 8dried shiitake mushrooms
• 120 gpork belly (skin removed, diced)
• 60 gJinhua-style cured ham (diced)
• 80 gbamboo shoots (diced)
• 1 tbspneutral oil
• 4dried lotus leaves
• 2 sheetparchment paper
• 2 sheetaluminum foil
• 1200 gall-purpose flour (not eaten)
• 650 mlwater (add gradually)

Instructions

1. 1

   Place the dried lotus leaves in a large basin and cover them with 3 l of hot water for 30 minutes, weighting them down with a plate if needed. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in 500 ml of hot water for 25 minutes, then squeeze them dry, discard the stems, and dice the caps.

2. 2

   Pat the whole chicken very dry inside and out with paper towels. Mix the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, white pepper, sugar, and salt, then rub the mixture over the skin and inside the cavity for 3 full minutes.

3. 3

   Cover the chicken and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, or for 12 hours for a deeper Jiangnan-style flavor. Turn the chicken once during marinating so the soy sauce and Shaoxing wine season both the breast and back evenly.

4. 4

   Heat a wok over medium-high heat, add the neutral oil, and stir-fry the pork belly for 3 minutes until some fat renders. Add the ham, diced shiitake, bamboo shoots, minced ginger, sliced scallions, light soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine, then stir-fry for 2 minutes until aromatic but not dry.

5. 5

   Let the stuffing cool for 10 minutes before using it, because hot stuffing can encourage uneven cooking in the chicken cavity. Remove the marinated ginger and scallion lengths from the chicken, then loosely fill the cavity with the cooled stuffing and close the opening with kitchen twine.

6. 6

   Drain the lotus leaves and pat them dry, then overlap them on the work surface so there are no gaps. Wrap the stuffed chicken completely in the lotus leaves, then wrap it again in parchment paper and aluminum foil to keep the juices inside the package.

7. 7

   Mix the flour and 180 g salt in a large bowl, then add 650 ml water gradually until a firm, clay-like dough forms. Roll or press the dough into a wide sheet about 1 cm thick, set the wrapped chicken in the center, and seal it completely with no visible cracks.

8. 8

   Heat the oven to 220 C and place the sealed package on a sturdy rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven to 175 C and continue baking for 2 hours 15 minutes.

9. 9

   Remove the package from the oven and rest it undisturbed for 25 minutes so the juices settle inside the chicken. Crack open the hardened dough with the back of a cleaver or a heavy spoon, discard the dough, foil, parchment, and lotus leaves, and check that the thickest part of the thigh reaches 74 C.

10. 10

    Transfer the chicken and stuffing to a warm platter, spooning any collected juices over the meat. Serve immediately with steamed rice and simply cooked greens so the lotus aroma, soy sauce savoriness, ginger, scallion, and Shaoxing fragrance remain the focus.